w/o title

(interpretation of Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin‘s «Hotel Istanbul»)

2021

Lambda Print on Opal foil backmounted on 2mm acrylic glas, wooden lightbox, 62.4 x 47.4 x 7 cm (24 9/16“ x 18 5/8“ x 2 3/4“)

The art piece “Hotel Istanbul” from the series “H-Fact: Hospitality / Hostility. 2003-07“ by Turkish artist Hüseyin Bahri Alptekins is shown in the villa of a private collector. The architects from 19:4 architects have placed it in a double hight passage area, where it has a significantly different effect during the day than in the evening.

The original intention of the artist to point out commercially caused problems (Democratic Luxury) is neglected in the depiction. Rather, the luminous effect of the object itself, the reflection in the glass, the view through the glass parapet is in the focus of the picture. The question arises as to how the illuminated sign changes the room and how the changing, indirect light from outside influences the effect of the illuminated object.

The luminous object and the light in the room influence each other so strongly that the fphoto- graphs that document certain moments show two completely different situations.

The images are given a second level through assembly as a slide and constant backlighting. Since the subject is primarily composed of light situations, it made sense not to simply illuminate the image from the front, but rather to stage it as a luminous body. In this way, the object shown gets its radiance back as an illuminated sign in the image. In addition, the daylight that determines the environment in the image also becomes a light source again.

The comparison of the two situations triggers the desire to compare the images. In addition to the light-related differences, the viewer becomes aware of the slight deviation in perspective. The size of the pictures was chosen so that the illuminated sign is the same size and is in the same position in the picture. The space develops accordingly around the luminous object and causes irritation for the viewer due to the slightly different camera position.

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