Chris Hinze

Fragments of a path

Room of Silence

25/04/—23/08/26

 

The solo exhibition of visual artist and musician Chris Hinze, born in Cottbus in 1969, is presented in two parts. While the new, site-specific, room-filling installation „Raum der Stille“ (Room of Silence) is on display in the exhibition hall „Maschinenhaus 1“, the presentation in „Schalthaus 3“ is contrapuntal, offering an overview of paintings in various techniques and sculptures from different periods of his career in a more traditional museum setting.

 

Having initially established himself primarily as a musician and experimented in performance art in the late 1980s, Chris Hinze soon began to translate his exploration of archaic ways of life and their symbolic imagery, as well as mythological themes, into visual art. Recurring themes include the (spiritually connoted) relationship between humanity and nature, as well as the idea of various forms of transgression as an intellectual, transcendental, yet also physical and, above all, aesthetic possibility of overcoming (societal) constraints, conventions, and (self-)control mechanisms.

 

The „Raum der Stille“ is transformed through sculptural and architectural interventions and subtle sound. The spatial installation transforms the museum context into an experiential space for visitors, who can become active participants or remain silent observers.

 

The space is marked by a double entrance on both sides: after opening the hall doors, visitors pass through archways made of raw robinia trunks. Flanked by two groups of sculptural figures, a circle of white, round cushions is located in the center of the space, which can be used for meditation or simply for quiet contemplation. The figures mounted on metal rods, encircling the circle, resemble simplified human forms, appearing like shadow figures, guardians, protectors, or even homunculi. Cast in concrete and embedded in the pre-formed forest floor, the figures bear the traces of their creation and environment, with moss, pine needles, leaves, soil residue, and other elements visible on the concrete surfaces. Fragments of nature and landscape are thus inscribed into the sculptural forms, the very skin of the figures, so to speak.

 

The figures originate from two distinct contexts: some were created last year as part of the First Nation project, an open-air installation by Chris Hinze in Jamlitz, exploring vanished places and voids. Other, newer figures were created a few weeks ago in a forest near Drebkau. This juxtaposition of sculptures from different times and places also connects various (natural) spaces and their historical significance.

 

During the exhibition, sound and meditation sessions, conceived and led by the artist, will take place twice in the „Raum der Stille“. Dates can be found on the BLMK website as well as at the reception desk.