Gegenstrich II
Motorized reactive kinetic sculpture, 2021
Faux Fur, Aluminium, Stainless steel, various mechanical and electronic components
80 x 80 x 8 cm and 120 x 120 x 8 cm
Gegenstrich II is the second work in a trilogy, each composed of hyperrealistic faux fur. A slender bar “strokes” the surface—sometimes with, sometimes against the grain.
When we say “against the grain,” we mean the resistant, the irritating, the uncomfortable. Yet a change in direction can open up new perspectives: what seemed clearly black a moment ago may suddenly appear ambiguously white. A near-digital shimmer accompanies the gentle movement—a vibrating play between softness and resistance.
Gegenstrich marks the counterpole: the other side of the coin, the dark side of the moon, the yin to the yang, the remainder of truth. Those who judge too quickly are bound to miss the point. So let us take our time—even when it rubs us the wrong way.
Gegenstrich II expands this motif to include the dimension of time. Translating the concept onto a circular disc inevitably evokes two signatures of contemporary life: the clock and the pie chart. Both stand for transience—the time that never stands still, and the diagram that merely depicts a fleeting state, a momentary snapshot. In the instant we perceive something, it has already passed. Realities shift, transform, evolve. The future intermingles with the past to shape a present that depends on both and never comes to rest.
As calm as the work’s movement may appear, loss and transition are inscribed within it. Yet this process does not seem threatening—on the contrary, it comforts. From the passing of the singular, the unique, the unrepeatable, a new whole continually emerges. The course of things appears here as a circle that, through its constant change of direction, never repeats itself but becomes an infinite motion—a path stretching endlessly before and behind us. theendisthebeginningistheend (…)
How, then, do these changes of direction occur? As in life, it is chance that decides. Despite all our planning, it remains the true director. Gegenstrich II employs a random generator to determine both direction and duration of movement—a system not based on mathematical probability but on omnipresent background radiation. This radiation draws on cosmic rays, electromagnetic fields, the energy of mobile phones and fluorescent lights—and ultimately on our own bodies, which refract, deflect, amplify, or attenuate these waves. Our presence, along with the surrounding architecture, thus directly influences the visible randomness of the work.
Those who allow themselves to engage with it may discover the beauty of letting go, the rhythm of the unpredictable—and perhaps even the quiet logic of chance.