By Abigail Holliday
Copy Editor
Tucked away in the College’s Art and Interactive Multimedia Building is a mirage of artwork, an exhibit called “Mirrors of Perception: Distorting Images of Reality.” Open until Dec. 5, AIMM 102 will be filled with prints, screens, images and sounds that all work together to draw you in and make you question reality.
“Mirrors of Perception” is curated by Egor Miroshnichenko, Leonie Cecco and Polina Arzhenovskova. This exhibition came to be through a partnership between the College’s Exhibition Design and Production course and the MA Curatorial Studies program at Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany.
The College’s own Professor Liselot van der Heijden initiated the collaboration during a semester abroad teaching exchange at Goethe University’s Curatorial Program.
All of the art featured in this exhibit were created by students from Städelschule Frankfurt, HfG Offenbach, HSE Art and Design School and Moscow School of New Cinema.
The artists appearing in this exhibition are Simon Gilmer, Konstantia Lechler, Anton Andrienko, Nelly Habelt, Aerin Hong, Elsa Stanyer, Ilyada Dağlı, Lena Bills, Killa Schütze, Evelyn Roh, Dasha Likhaya, Angelika Sarkisyan and Sasha Kozma.
A capture from Evelyn Roh’s “autopilot.” (Photo courtesy of Abigail Holliday)
One artist, Ilyada Dağlı, captured her piece “be brave not to look away” in Venice.
On the label, it reads, “In ‘be brave not to look away,’ Dagli transforms everyday objects into sites of reflection and resonance. The series focuses on covered motors in the canals of Venice, which initially appear as mundane cityscape details. Upon closer consideration, these forms evoke associations with crisis and mortality, reflecting how media imagery shapes perception… The work meditates on perception as both a personal and social act, emphasizing how subtle encounters with the ordinary can reveal hidden layers of meaning and memory.”
A photo of “be brave not to look away” by Ilayda Dağli. (Photo courtesy of Abigail Holliday)
Another interesting installation is “DELIRIUM” by Ilya Martynov, a just-over four minute video overloaded with videos, pictures, recorded lines and background sounds guaranteed to jumble your mind.
As written on the label, “DELIRIUM examines the disorienting state of delirium, where perception, thought, and consciousness are altered. The work blurs the boundaries between reality and hallucination, presenting unpredictable sensations, distorted visuals, and chaotic narrative cues… Through this exploration, Martynov reflects on the fragility of human cognition and the uncertainty inherent in experience. It is not clear in the end who the main character in the film is, or what is even happening. Where is reality and does it exist at all?”
When questioned on her inspiration for this exhibit, artist Ilya Martynov responded, “Lately, I have been inspired by different forms of the everyday and by the possibility of preserving a sense of ‘flânerie’ in the urban environment, as well as by the search for something new within constancy and repetition.
As for my work displayed at the exhibition, it is built on repetitions and sound loops which, when combined, create a layered soundscape. It seems to me that this, for the most part, generates an additional space for perceiving everyday reality. I am fascinated by discovering such shifts in real life and attempting to reproduce them through sound or imagery.”
Viewers of this exhibit are encouraged to use Post-Its to reflect and share their thoughts on the art. They were asked to share one word to describe the exhibit and their answers were, “intimate,” “unexplainable,” “mystical,” “reality” and “unsettling.”
Make sure to stop by this exhibit, open through Dec. 5 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays through Thursdays and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays.
