Klara Meinhardt: Habitat                          
8 March—7 April 2018                     

Habitatthe natural and functional habitat of humansis in motion. The thriving environment is more than just the locally defined biotope. Klara Meinhardt looks at the place of existence of her contemporaries with a questioning eye. At first, the original environment is no longer spatially defined. The cultural, historical and spiritual affiliation, the worlds of values and social networks demand less local coordinates but space and tolerance for cultural techniques and lifestyle. Furnishing oneself in an imaginary space meets the need for modern rituals and makes the habitat the framework of existence for an ideal living space.

On the other hand, the human body is the primary space of existence, is the only binding spatial and material habitat. The shell of the ego, once an impermeable boundary between subject and object, is subject to design mania and optimisation ambitions and opens up to its surroundings, not least in the form of body cult and body symbolism. In several work complexes, Klara Meinhardt has questioned this ambivalence of the human habitat for its contemporary expression and translated it into her pictorial and formal language.

In the cyanotypes* she approaches habitat as a physical category. The series »Before Jesus« refers to natural deities. Summarized in their idiosyncratic physical forms and impressions, they depict the closed system of bodies and emphasize the [also divine] power that is accumulated in them. The outer form as an outline, naturally captured by sunrays on light-sensitive canvas, appears mystical and inaccessible. In the »Embodiments« Meinhardt changes the line of vision. The process of cyanotyping on canvas [up to 2.60 x 1.50 m] is technically refined and the exposure to UV radiation to produce the photogram is extended by intermediate stepsinterior views become possible. In monochrome Berlin blue, the human body presents itself translated into a scientific formal language, supplemented by grids, sketches, units of measurement, architecture, cell material and natural history exhibits. Divided into modules or unfolded and measured like an anatomical model, the body becomes a technoid system of machine drawingsthe habitat of the soul.

The incongruity of the outer frame as a formal appearance and the essence becomes metaphorically clear in the concrete objects presented sacredly. The hollow spaces of polystyrene packaging do not reproduce the originally packaged object, but show a positive in a fascinatingly absurd formal language with independent associations and a very own, coincidental aesthetic. Meinhardt intensifies this unique aesthetic of wrapping, lacing and packaging in his works, which are reminiscent of bondage techniques. In addition to the sexual, artistic and erotic connotations, the binding, tying up and wrapping of bodies aims above all at creating a total work of art consisting of object and rope. Here, the cover and body combine to form an emotional and essential statement.

From the concrete dwelling of the soul to the imagined ideal existential space of the ego, Meinhardt can dissect the human habitat into symbols that convey a moving view of a formerly secure idea.        
—by Tina Simon
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Dr. phil. Tina Simon
Author and publicist, Leipzig


* Cyanotype, also known as [iron] blue printing, is an early photographic process [c. 1842] based on a photosensitive chemical iron solution. This is applied to the substrate, negatives and objects are placed on it and the area is exposed to UV light [sunlight]. The unexposed parts are water-soluble and are washed out with water afterwards, thereby fixing/stabilising the image. The result is an intense monochrome photograph/image/collage in cyan blue tonesan aesthetic reminiscent of early alternative botanical documentation [photograms] and technical blueprints.

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