ABOUT THE WORK

I had a special interest in exploring the historic and contemporary genius loci of Lucerne in Switzerland where the Lucerne Central Prison with two closed courtyards was built on a former garden terrace of a property referred to as the Old Nunciature, taking into account the urban environment and geography. The garden, with a passerelle over Löwengraben, connects to a building within the city walls where the Nunciature was located. The building with its two courtyards currently houses the Barabas Hotel Luzern and Blok Bar. The eastern courtyard has been unused for nearly one decade, so I paid special attention to the wild vegetation that contrasts with the appearance of the prison architecture, creating a feeling and sense of authenticity.

By respecting the unique nature of the space, I created a new art concept through adaptive reuse. The artistic project entails multiple dimensions such as site-specific installation, website and video tapes. The main element is an ascetic mirror sculpture, whose concept and form are based on a reference to the history of the place, the genius loci, the typology of the enclosed garden or hortus conclusus. The site-specific installation makes use of pre-existing features, such as the existing pavement at the perimeter and vegetation.

While physically and cyclically walking in the courtyard, the viewer observes and feels the surroundings, and from time to time sees himself/herself and discovers new dimensions. Although the sculpture is a reference to a place, its center is the inner world of human.

I am inspired by Anthony Gormley’s artistic work, where he explores the relationship and interaction of the human body to space, so called 'space inside space'. I give the viewer 'reference points' or coordinates, boundary between 'I and you' through the surface of the mirror. Going through the installation, Pythagoras’ expression comes to mind – 'Man is the Measures of All Things'.

The courtyard cannot be found easily and there are various pathways that lead to it. For the visitor, it is important to find one's own relationship with the surroundings through contemplation and interaction. I combined the installation with an online presence where four video taped sequences of the courtyard can be viewed and used as the basis to collect and share visitor experience.