Björn Braun
14 Sep - 27 Oct 2007
BJÖRN BRAUN
"Schweizer Krankheit"
14.09.2007 - 27.10.2007
We are glad to present the exhibition “Schweizer Krankheit” by Björn Braun in our project space.
The term “Schweizer Kranheit” (Swiss Disease) was first used in 1688 by the doctor Johannes Hofer, who thus gave the emotional condition of homesickness and melancholy a medical indication. He observed the strange suffering of Swiss soldiers stationed abroad, and reached the conclusion that the loss of a familiar realm of perception could lead from deep melancholia to death. The only cure was returning home.
Björn Braun’s works are open-ended stories that convey an indefinable longing.
The collages that Björn Braun creates consist of interventions in old landscape photographs.
Wooden crates become a branchiate tree, the back of a horse is the night sky, cut-out trees, branches and telegraph posts develop into huts or benches, which he merges into one and the same landscape; the alterations and additions are visible as such only upon the second glance. The intervention with nature follows a subjective logic, according to which the material is returned to its original condition, or manufactured into a further. The style of the collages resembles woodcarving, and this underlines their nostalgic aesthetics, reminiscent of a vague past, developing a distinct and poetic ambience.
The presentation of the collages on the interior sides of old book covers refers to their origin in old landscape books of the 50s and 60s.
The sculptures are similarly altered everyday objects. A chair is missing its back, across from it hangs a piece of paper made out of the chair’s back’s wood.
An old backpack rests in the corner, as if it had just been put down. Within its opening a deserted swallows’ nest is visible. The association of the birds’ migration is juxtaposed with the suggestion of a heavy burden.
Without thematizing process, the process is the subject matter of these works, in which the beginning and the end are simultaneously visible.
"Schweizer Krankheit"
14.09.2007 - 27.10.2007
We are glad to present the exhibition “Schweizer Krankheit” by Björn Braun in our project space.
The term “Schweizer Kranheit” (Swiss Disease) was first used in 1688 by the doctor Johannes Hofer, who thus gave the emotional condition of homesickness and melancholy a medical indication. He observed the strange suffering of Swiss soldiers stationed abroad, and reached the conclusion that the loss of a familiar realm of perception could lead from deep melancholia to death. The only cure was returning home.
Björn Braun’s works are open-ended stories that convey an indefinable longing.
The collages that Björn Braun creates consist of interventions in old landscape photographs.
Wooden crates become a branchiate tree, the back of a horse is the night sky, cut-out trees, branches and telegraph posts develop into huts or benches, which he merges into one and the same landscape; the alterations and additions are visible as such only upon the second glance. The intervention with nature follows a subjective logic, according to which the material is returned to its original condition, or manufactured into a further. The style of the collages resembles woodcarving, and this underlines their nostalgic aesthetics, reminiscent of a vague past, developing a distinct and poetic ambience.
The presentation of the collages on the interior sides of old book covers refers to their origin in old landscape books of the 50s and 60s.
The sculptures are similarly altered everyday objects. A chair is missing its back, across from it hangs a piece of paper made out of the chair’s back’s wood.
An old backpack rests in the corner, as if it had just been put down. Within its opening a deserted swallows’ nest is visible. The association of the birds’ migration is juxtaposed with the suggestion of a heavy burden.
Without thematizing process, the process is the subject matter of these works, in which the beginning and the end are simultaneously visible.