FESTIVAL DE MUSIQUE CONTEMPORAINE ::::: forum : : wallis <<>> forum : : valais : : : : NEWS

BIOGRAPHIE

SIMON WUNDERLICH received his instructions in art in Germany, Spain, the United States of America and Switzerland. The overall interest in Wunderlich’s work is questioning the perception of reality in order for the viewers to achieve a stronger sense of awareness. He achieves this by allowing them to take their time and engage them actively in a spatial and temporal situation, either within outdoors or indoors. Time plays quite an important role in his projects and they are often subjected to the changes of natural and artificial light. Recently he has been developing many of his art pieces within the architectonical context of the spaces where he is working at or where he is going to exhibit them.

He tries to draw the viewers’ attention by creating appealing environments to penetrate their momentary reality in a way that the current experience through the interaction with the piece becomes the important part. In these situations the viewer is confronted with a variety of phenomena, such as reflections, projections of light, mirroring effects, plays of shadow and light, experiments in the darkness, vortexes of smoke, malfunctions, sound installations, representations of space, etc. Wunderlich creates the phenomena by experimenting with products and materials from building supllies stores or so called DIY (Do It Yourself) superstores, that he uses because of their easy accessibility and their universal dimensions to which everybody can easily relate to since we are surrounded by them.

By the choice of the materials and the setup of the artwork Wunderlich tries to make it clear to the viewer that he offers only a mock-up for the ultimate experience that any kind of art actually can’t provide. DIY materials are characteristically simple and practical and they lack of delicacy and they have the spirit of spontaneity and directness. In the beginning their cheap and raw appearance can be awkward, but through process of assembling they lose their sturdiness and convert into something beautiful, actually delicate and often ephemeral.

The imperfection of the DIY materials shall help the viewer to enjoy the experience in the situation rather than to be overwhelmed by high-end finishes full of effects, which can distract and raise questions how something is really done instead of asking what it is and what does it do.

Wunderlich’s work turns into authentic “homemade” experiments creating situations about the exploration of the spiritual and sublime, while at the same time lending irony to itself through its practical character of the construction and its imperfection, which all can be understood as well as questions about the boundaries of art.