SONIA LEIMERSpace Junk

Online Exclusive

6 Nov 2020 – 31 Jan 2021

How do we perceive familiar places and objects when they have been altered through artistic transformation and taken out of their specific historical contexts? How do we react when the foundations of our perception, which are defined by collective, historical, and media-related patterns of experience, are challenged? These are central questions that interest multi-media artist Sonia Leimer, whose work renders historical and social changes tangible. Leimer situates individual or groups of works in the context of spatial installations, letting them converse with one another as their meanings shift with each new arrangement.

Frenetic Standstill, GAM – Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin; Photo: Perottino-Piva / Artissima 2020

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Artissima Unplugged

Considerung the current events, Artissima Unplugged emerged as the format of the Artissima 2020. Expanding throughout the city of Turin, it combines three physical exhibitions with digital projects. In one of these exhibitions – Frenetic Standstill at the Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GAM) –, Sonia Leimer‘s Space Junk is being shown.

Sonia Leimer

Space Junk, 2020

steel

dm 80 cm (31 1/2 in.), length 95 cm (37 3/8 in.)

3 Zoom Views

PDF

Space Junk, Museion, Bolzano, Italy, 2020; Photo: Laura Egger

Sonia Leimer

Space Junk, 2020

steel

dm 80 cm (31 1/2 in.)

4 Zoom Views

PDF

Sonia Leimer

Space Junk, 2020/2024

steel, galvanized steel rope

dm 60 cm (23 5/8 in.)

5 Zoom Views

PDF

Sonia Leimer

Space Junk, 2020

steel

dm 40 cm (15 3/4 in.)

6 Zoom Views

PDF

Sonia Leimer

Space Junk, 2020

aluminum, clay, acrylic

130 x 160 x 80 cm (51 3/16 x 63 x 31 1/2 in.)

4 Zoom Views

PDF

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Space Junk

Leimer’s ongoing series of works Space Junk focuses on space debris of past research expeditions and old satellites, that accumulates in orbit. These fragments no longer have a function, but are mere leftovers of utopian narratives that usually burn up when they fall back to Earth. The appearance of these metal objects, clearly marked by their journeys, blurs the boundaries between fiction and science. While their fragmentary character is reminiscent of modernism’s utopian notions and faith in progress, they also point to the infrastructural, social, and ethical issues confronting us today.

Space Junk, Museion, Bolzano, Italy, 2020; Photo: Laura Egger

Sonia Leimer

Blind Spot, 2016

silkscreen print on magnet foil and insulation foil developed for space flight, magnet paint

120 x 100 cm (47 1/4 x 39 3/8 in.)

Zoom View

PDF

Sonia Leimer

Blind Spot, 2016

silkscreen print on magnet foil and insulation foil developed for space flight, magnet paint

120 x 100 cm (47 1/4 x 39 3/8 in.)

Zoom View

PDF

Sonia Leimer

Blind Spot, 2016

silkscreen print on magnet foil and insulation foil developed for space flight, magnet paint

120 x 100 cm (47 1/4 x 39 3/8 in.)

Zoom View

PDF

read inGerman

Blind Spot

Leimer’s group of works Blinder Fleck (Blind Spot) also borrows elements from space travel, which it combines with ecological and ethical issues. In these screen prints, which are structured like collages, pieces of leftover insulation foil made for satellites are used. Constituting a “blind spot,” these refer to the phenomenon of collectively and individually repressing or blocking out something. However, in Leimer’s works, the blind spot becomes a symbol that cannot be ignored. Cropped so as to appear as if it is covering apparent blemishes, it shimmers golden on the surface of the moon and in our conscious perception, inviting self-reflection

Poetiken des Materials, Leopold Museum, Vienna, 2016-2017; Photo: Lisa Rastl

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