The exhibition by Noa Heyne and Jens Brand - titled GHOSTS - did not emerge from a collaboration in the production of the works, but from a constructive exchange. It was not so much about dividing the walls and spaces of galerie weisser elefant or about visual correspondences, but about a dialogue that evoked spirits. While Jens Brand's works occupy almost the entire gallery through discrete sound, Noa Heyne's works have a physical presence and can be understood as the relics of strange technological machines. Each of the two artists occupies different spaces, yet their combination in an exhibition creates new meanings.
In Jens Brand's and Noa Heyne's work, one finds elements of a shared vocabulary, for example, both use motors in their works (but would one bring painters together just because they handle brushes and pigments?). In Noa Heyne's installation Satellite Cradel (2022), motors breathe life into artificial satellites that seem to be stranded in the gallery's great hall-but watching their movements, one might rather speak of their last breaths. They are fragments of objects that have fallen to the floor and are slowly moving forward with the help of ropes, pulleys and motors. Jens Brand's motors, in turn, are barely visible, but are used by the artist in such a way that they "sing" abstract melodies. The works are united by a certain aesthetic of the simple, the direct, the object shown as it is. The technology is not put in the foreground, the welds are rugged, the engines are visible, without any form of bodywork or search for exaggerated sophistication in design. The two artists are fascinated by a certain low-tech, reminiscent of the beginnings of the industry, of experimentation, testing and research, much more than finished, completed products.
But it would also be conceivable to find a less formal, more conceptual connection between the two artists through the idea of science fiction. Sometimes satellites take us back to the history of the conquest of space, to the entry of Sputnik 1 into the stratosphere in 1957 and to the inspirational force that this moment triggered in novelists and filmmakers. Almost at the same time, in 1953, Frederick Juergenson discovered that he could communicate with the dead with the help of a microphone, a magnetic recording device, and an "out of tune" radio. These scientific or pseudoscientific discoveries had an impact on many science fiction writers, and some of their books were made into films - creative (Stanisław Lem's Solaris by Andrei Tarkovsky) or illustrative (Frank Herbert's Dune by Denis Villeneuve). But they are also part of our collective memory - and it is natural that artists still draw inspiration from them.
Satellites are, above all, instruments of communication. While Sputnik merely emitted a "GDP" at regular intervals, these strange flying machines now play a role in our everyday lives - especially since the outbreak of numerous conflicts around the world. The object of fantasy, symbol of dreams and of the domination associated with the conquest of space, now stands for Star Wars and militarily used Internet, GPS or - still - telephoning. The aspect of communication can also be found in Jens Brand's work door (2002), in which 16 motors are installed behind a door. The visitor sees nothing at first, but hears a voice, a whisper, a few words, or even birdsong. He has to go deeper into the room to see the devices, a collection of cables and mechanisms attached to the door. This misappropriation of machines - that is, their use for something they were not supposed to do - is also the origin of the research of Friedrich Jürgenson, who used radio waves to communicate with the dead. Incidentally, the sounds produced by Jens Brand's work are also reminiscent of the Swedish researcher's recordings. In this sense, the works of Jens Brand and Noa Heyne are directly related to communication technologies. They deal with a not-so-distant past and a less pleasant present. They evoke and reveal a certain poetry that is often hidden behind scientific utopias and technical achievements. But in their whispers or slow movements, they also remind us how difficult it is for us humans to communicate with each other, to communicate (whether with or without the help of a machine).
In the end, Noa Heyne and Jens Brand offer the visitor two works with a strange kind of interactivity. Today, when everyone talks about virtual and augmented reality (VR & AR), it is forgotten that sometimes it is enough to hold a part of the body under a beam of light or to pull a few strings with the hands to activate objects or artworks. Noa Heyne, for example, installs strings on one wall that bring a satellite arm in the next room to life - and the visitor becomes a puppeteer (in the sense of the one who animates in a puppet theater), but cannot even see the result that his movements produce. In another room, however, Jens Brand projects the image of the floor itself onto the floor - and we have to walk under the light or carefully observe the slight shifting of the parquet under our steps to become aware of the illusion. These two disarmingly simple works, without motors, show that a presence of the living is also necessary to set spirits in motion.
Long ago, Marcel Duchamp formulated, "A GUEST + A HOST = A GHOST." He was interested in catchy puns and flashes of inspiration that can trigger thoughts, but in doing so he also conveys a striking definition of dialogue and communication. The guest speaks to the host, the host responds, they exchange ideas, anecdotes and memories, creating a spirit. Who of Jens Brand or Noa Heyne is the guest here? Who is the host? Neither artist takes a leading role, but they create living spirits together and between the lines.
Thibaut de Ruyter
galerie weisser elefant
Auguststraße 21, 10117 Berlin
www.galerieweisserelefant.de