Quick pop-in last week to see the vernissage of ‘Dinge’ by the Berlin-based artist Claus Goedicke at the exquisite Jo Borg Gallery in Manoel Dimech Street, Sliema.
At first glance, each photographed object is seemingly divorced from context, inviting the viewer to build their own gestalt. A lone syringe, a signifier of addiction, pain relief, and possibly euthanasia, evokes ominous intimations of mortality. Meanwhile, a creased pillow conjures up a vacant image of the last person who slept on it, their hopes, worries, fears and aspirations. What happened on week 10, Monday the 8th of March? Goedicke’s photographs range between still life and object photography and ask viewers to reconsider their familiar subjects as protagonists in their own right, with a life of their own.
Frequently, the minimal background cues on these inkjet prints help viewers to fill in the blanks, projecting their own imagination onto these springboards of stories. A red lipstick on liquid brown silk is a trope for art deco sensuality. The white mirror on aquamarine tiles places the narrative in a retro bathroom. A holy water aspergillum on a purple brocade backdrop recreates the richness and pomp of ritual, while a neatly folded, crisp white shirt waits expectantly for someone to wear it.
‘Dinge’ is open for viewing till 17.12.24
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