Ghosts
„How to speak unspeakable? How to describe indescribable? – A ghost is a ghost until someone sees it.“ – Ghosts observes mass killings, abuse and existence of Spanish hunting dogs and is a comprehensive complex for artistic examination of human-animal studies. The installation asks for perspectives of victims and viewers, confronts with questions about being locked up and locked out – appears as bridge between art and documentation. Due to lack of translation of experienced atmospheric phenomena, it is supplemented by experimental paintings, objects and texts, based on archive and research. It openes possibilities to expand space and atmosphere in a museographic character. A key visual is interplay of light and shadow such as views from inside and outside of rooms, buildings and surroundings as juxtaposition. Ghosts was created in close cooperation with rescue centers and independent observation. The camera provides unflinching insights into kennels, mostly looped, to illustrate state of suspension. The view is simultaneously dogs' perspective through bars, a intangible world, yet one they still yearn for. The story, deliberately left unspoken.
Text: Norman Maýn
Installation views
Installation views, 2024, UdK Berlin
“Die Augen wie Wachen aus Bronze
Der Wind war sehr stark als er wehte
Der Sand war sehr trocken in ihm
Wir zählen es drei Mal am Tag
Dein Schlaf ist das Zittern der Lieder
Wäre es schlimm wärst du blind
Was hat dein Herz gesehen bis gestern
Wäre es gut wärst du blind
Die Augen wie Wachen aus Bronze”
Selected Works
Ghosts
2024, Multichannel (9 or 6 without explicit content), shown on analog TVs, endless loops, monochrome, sound of the Calima sandstorm
Untitled (Abades)
2024, Inkjet print, graphite, ink, soot, textiles on matte fibre paper, 36.8 x 28 cm, framed, unique
Untitled
2024, Inkjet prints, nature materials, soot, acrylic, industrial paint, foliage, wire, textiles, wax, paste, glue, animal fat on streched canvas, 70 x 100 cm, unique
Untitled
2024, Pigment print, graphite, soot, wax, spray paint on multiplex wood boards, 10 × 10 cm each
280344N1634503
2024, Inkjet print, black tape, stone, wire, transparent paper, spraypaint, insect, textiles on wooden box, 15 x 15 cm, framed, unique
280344N1634503
2024, Soot, graphite, transparent paper, spraypaint, found nature materials, insects, textiles on wooden box, 25 x 25 cm, framed, unique
Archive
Abandoned place where dogs were killed, Almeria
Excavated bones and killing tools, Tenerife
Rehala (huge groups of dogs, around 30-50, only used for hunting) and kept in small sheds the year around hunting season, Tenerife
Hidden bunker filled with dogs built into the stone walls of a barranco, Tenerife
Barranco surrounding, Alpujarras
Small bunker where dogs are kept, directly at tourists beach, Tenerife
Traumatized dog with disorder resulting from deprivation chewing on a stone for self-regulation in a rescue station, Tenerife
Isolated dogs behind a metal mesh as the only opening of the whole construction, Tenerife
