Overwhelming

In the 18th century, the experience of the “sublime” was a central emotional category in art and the counter-concept to beauty. The feeling is conveyed through depictions of natural disasters, impassable nature or overwhelming events. Artists use these to evoke awe and amazement through their confrontation with nature – always in the knowledge that they are at a safe distance and not affected.

Julius von Bismarck’s video work “Irma to Come in Earnest” updates the 18th century concept – with a few changes. For example, the artist exposed himself to real danger when ,– equipped with a time-lapse camera – he drove into the eye of Hurricane Irma, which hit the US state of Florida on August 30, 2017. And: today we know about the man-made destructive power of nature – against which we increasingly rarely have a secure footing.