BEPERKT
HOUDBAAR
perishable
1995
video installation
The
sound of clearly audible respiration drifts through the room. The observer
discovers a glass cabinet attached to the wall. Sixteen small glass bottles
filled with fluid are arranged in two rows, one above the other. Video
projections into the content of the bottles display the faces of 16 different
people.
“Perishable” the English translation of the title, reveals
the fragility of this almost mystical work by the dutch artist Jaap de
Jonge, in several ways. Reminiscent of a medical experiment, to preserve
human souls, which may some day be released, the 16 bottles were apparently
removed from the dissection room of a secret laboratory to be temorarily
observed in the lab showcase. They all display the same contents: The
heads of 16 different people. The tiny movements clearly show signs of
life. The gasping breathing could be stopped by opening the bottles, but
what happens when air hits the contens? The desire to mummify the mind
and the body of man beyond death cannot be fullfilled. As the title suggest:
everything is perishable.
videodocumentation
metal construction
with 16 botlles, mirrors,
2 video projectors
http://www.transmediale.de/97/deutsch/
installation.htm
close up face in bottle