Untitled (2013)
MIXED TECHNIQUE
For Untitled, Carla Arocha and Stéphane Schraenen hark back to earlier works such as Gold box (2008) and Gold (2010), constructions constructed of mirrored Plexiglas and gold-glazed MDF in a pattern that recalls the rectilinearity of De Stijl. The grid-like divisions, the blurred reflection through the plexiglass and the disorienting reflection through the gold surfaces create a fragmented and dislocated perception of both the work and its reflected surroundings, exacerbated by the changing perspective of the viewer moving about. The filtered optical experience of the environment becomes all the more alienating and almost oppressive when the work assumes room-sized proportions, a fictional situation with which Untitled confronts the viewer. The formal properties and the architectural spatial context challenge him or her on several levels to become aware of the position taken, the subjective perception and the image he or she forms on this basis.