Olaf Nicolai

Münster

„Seen in the light…“ is a phrase used when the true nature of a phenomenon is revealed or appears different than initially assumed. This figure of speech acts as a descriptive substitute for words such as „clarify,“ „illuminate“ or „enlighten“ (from which the English word „Enlightenment“ is derived), words whose etymologies also stem from visual experience. These are words which express the interdependence between light, seeing, and the act of recognition, a complex process in which objective and subjective information coalesce to create the perception of an image.

Olaf Nicolai’s diverse artistic approaches examine what „seen in the light“ can mean. By creating sensual environments within which physiological, aesthetic, and ideological factors superimpose and play upon each other. It is exactly this what is on show at his current exhibition The peacock with his long train appears more like a dandy than a warrior, but he sometimes engages in fierce contests.

The peacock’s magnificently colored feathers are deceptive. This well-known yet fascinating colour display actually appears only when light falls on the bird’s feathers in a precise way. Thus the aesthetic experience is indebted not exclusively to the colours of the bird´s feathers, rather much more to the play of light, reflection, and the processes of individual observation. Such scientific and physiological processes dealing with the nature of perception are examined by Olaf Nicolai, often radicalized in larger social and political contexts in his work.

Kunsthalle Münster

June 9th – September 30th, 2012
Hafenweg 28
48155 Münster
Germany

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