While sailing along the coast of Brittany, artist Sebastian Stumpf discovered a series of small islands that would appear and disappear with the tide. They were not listed on nautical charts, so Stumpf decided to create his own record, using black-and-white analog photographs that each depicted a single island. The photographs show rock formations without any trace of life, like boulders dropped from the heavens onto the horizon. The longer you look at the compositions, the more enigmatic the islands become: how far are they from the shore? How high are the rocks? Are they accessible or is it all an optical illusion? The chart Stumpf used to document his kayak trip from the coast to the islands is as abstract as the photographs: instead of drawing the direct route, the artist shows his precise course, complete with deviations and detours.
The sound work “Towards a White Space” is also about a journey – this time a 200km bike trip between Stumpf’s Leipzig studio and his Berlin gallery. You hear the route as a symphony of inhaling and exhaling, traffic noise and the rush of the wind. Every strenuous incline, every rotation of the tires becomes palpable. In a time when apps count our steps and evaluate health data in real time, Stumpf rescues movement from the confines of standardized, purpose-driven measurement. Rather than self-optimization, movement regains its original purpose: the perception of body and environment.
Text: Laura Storfner / Photos: Sebastian Stumpf, Îles sans nom, 2022, Gelatin silver print, Copyright Sebastian Stumpf, Courtesy Galerie Thomas Fischer; Galerie Thomas Fischer, Photo: Torben Hoeke
Galerie Thomas Fischer, Mulackstr.14, 10119 Berlin–Mitte; map
Sebastian Stumpf – Îles sans nom, 20.08–24.09.2022
Opening: Friday 19.08 18–21h; then Tues–Sat 12–18h
