Wandeln
Moritzkirche, Apsis, 2018
Karen Irmer consistently observed the formations of birds in the early morning hours and studied their flight behavior. Her focus was not so much on the birds, but rather much more on their patterns of movement. And so, in her video installation the artist largely parts with the object that had served solely as the intermediary for the harmonic and fluid motion. As is the case with the bird observations, Karen Irmer’s work is always preceded by an intensive encounter with nature. Travel is an essential part of her creative process. Wyoming, Lapland, the Scottish Highlands – her expeditions usually lead her to regions absent from any stimulation except those from nature, in which it is possible to concentrate on the phenomena that would barely be perceptible in another context.
“I must have a dialogue with my surroundings in order to record them”, says Karen Irmer. In wandering she taps into the often baren landscapes and becomes more than just an external observer of nature, but rather, she permeates them. This immersion enables works in which the atmospheric situation, and not the individual phenomenon itself, becomes the motive. Images emerge with mystical, poetic beauty that in their diffuse pictorial language and implicit ambiguity don’t always allow for a clear determination of their location.
Simone Kimmel 2018
»Karen Irmers Multimedia-Installation ist ein meditatives Raumerlebnis.
Nichts passiert in ihrem ortlosen Zwischenreich des Lichts – und doch geschieht so viel«
Michael Schreiner, Augsburger Allgemeine10.00.2018
Karen Irmer
Karen Irmer