isolation by fabian knecht transforms landscape into a figural 'great indoors'

fabian knecht presents ‘isolation’ — a white-box gallery space erected to capture the picturesque true nature and transform the untouched landscape into a ‘great indoors.’ while the interiors suggest a series of galleries occupied by landscape installations, the work in fact comprises a white, fluorescent-lit enclosure dropped atop a fragment of landscape. decontextualized from its surroundings, this small swatch of land evokes its own set of associations, analogies, desires and anxieties. the installation serves to isolate and objectify the landscape.

all images courtesy of alexander levy

fabian knecht’s newest and largest variation of ‘isolation’ comprises three connected galleries which together enclose 180 square meters of land within germany’s märkische schweiz national park. the once boundless landscape is now rendered as a figural composition, remaining fully isolated within the gallery walls and further enclosed by the fourth wall of photographic representation. the work lends the contradictory experience that is the picturesque charm of discovering nature in its untouched state within the fluorescent white box. when viewing the work, visitors are first blindfolded and then dropped into the architecturally framed landscape without having seen the structure or its surroundings from the outside.

knecht continues: ‘however the teleported visitor relates to the situation, they must eventually emerge from it, into a beyond. they must leave the structure. in a reverse telescoping effect, it seems that knecht’s box frames everything outside it too. every tree and puddle surrounding the structure become benefactors of a heightened psychological investment in twigs, leaves, etc. how long will it take for this uncanny perspective on the world beyond the artwork to wear off?‘