Projects 2002

The White Light of the Void

8-17 November 2002
MUU Gallery, Helsinki

Malmö and Berlin-based artist Alexander Gutke (b. 1971) is premiering his film installation The White Light of the Void at MUU Gallery in Helsinki. Gutke uses the effect plug-ins available in editing software (After Effects) to simulate the moment when a film gets jammed in the projector gate and rapidly melts in the heat of a projector lamp, leaving the screen basking in light. Some may have encountered this event a firsthand experience, but most often through film as a device to reflect closure or the end of an era, or simply as a representation of loss or nostalgia. The 'film' sequence consists exclusively of effect plug-ins, without any additional photographic material. The sequence was transferred from DV to 16 mm film and installed as a loop. Gutke's film installation strives to recreate this borderline experience, while simultaneously acknowledging the impossibility of the situation. The work can also be seen as a vain attempt to 'capture' a moment by recreating it. The narrative is stripped down to the bare essentials of film i.e. light and the wear and tear which the film material is exposed to. When the film burns out, the loop is completed and we are back at the beginning with an empty film running towards its meltdown. Alexander Gutke also presents another new work Endless Copies.

Gutke's work Caracas 1966-2000 was exhibited at the fourth Gwangju Biennale in South Korea this year. It was shown as part of the Make a Lasting Impression project organised by the Malmö-based Signal gallery. The image of a moving sky is projected onto a postcard and shown as a video loop in this piece. This piece is currently shown at the Modesty exhibition in Graz, Austria. Gutke's works can be seen this autumn in Chicago, Milan and Berlin. His video-loop Transition (A 1978 Pontiac Firebird Driving Through a Forest of Pine Trees) is also part of the BLICK - New Nordic Film and Video 2001 exhibition which has toured the world during the winter of 2001-2002. This joint venture was a collaborative effort between NIFCA and Moderna Museet.

During June-September 2002, Alexander Gutke undertook a residency at NIFCA in Suomenlinna. The exhibition was initiated and produced by NIFCA in collaboration with MUU ry.

Photo by: Michael Aston