Markus Wilfling. A Sculpture Is Something That Is Here. (en) - a podcast by CastYourArt.com

Markus Wilfling - A Sculpture Is Something That Is Here.

To put surfaces into the spatial. To construct three-dimensionality which we in turn flatten under our gaze. The transference of the spatial into the visual and vice versa - which opens up possibilities of the sculptural - is what fascinates the artist Markus Wilfling.

For him, it is the conditioned perspective on everyday things which challenge him artistically. With his work, he shakes up our usual perceptions, which are geared towards normalization and from which we habitually expect nothing - for example, in our routines, the daily first morning glimpse into the mirror, the established routes which we follow each day, the handling of objects which we use on a daily basis.

Markus Wilfling lives in Graz, the second largest city in Austria. In 2003, he built a directly proportional “shadow” duplicate of the Graz clock tower, a landmark of the city. The city suddenly became comic-book-like, like an enormous facade standing before a still larger painted wall, because, normally, as we all know, a cast shadow only becomes visible when it meets a touchable surface.

A multiplicity of projects followed this project in the cultural capital city: “mirrored” spaces which toy with our perception of surfaces; reflections of spaces which upon closer inspection turn out not to be reflections at all, but exactly built reproductions; bathtubs, rows of seats, tables, and park benches which seem to be gradually sinking into a ground which we know could not possibly be soft enough for such a possibility, even when our perception is telling us otherwise.

The provocation instigated by such illusions can be a source of delight, and even more so, fascination. But for Wilfling, this type of reaction is merely a side effect, as much as one that would imply that his art depicts negative sides of life or other such psychological interpretations. He does, however, give weight to the political side of his interventions. In public spaces, his sculptures challenges those conventions which we take for granted - which are mainly determined by consumerism and power, interspersed with majority public opinion and complacency. (wh/jn)

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