“That which stands or hangs here did not previously exist in the world”. 

                                                                                     Paul Wunderlich

​

An artist is always  vis-à-vis de rien, naked at the moment of existence, and always in a zone of “nil”.

 The same as Armand Schultness, having segregated himself from the civilization and  created one of the most amazing psychotopies of 20th century, in the woods not far from Auressi settlement in Switzerland. In the land area of 18 000 square meters he planted a cosmogonic garden, enlaced with a web of wild thoughts.  Every tree, bush and stone had a small metal plate fixed to it with scientific ideas written in five languages, connected to each other with an intricate web of strands and obsessing cross-shaped indications.  Schulthess combined together all possible areas of human existence and scientific disciplines. Starting from art, music, poetry and ending with psychoanalysis and parapsychology, cosmobiology and cybernetics. He collected and made at least 70 different albums on ideas of sexuality and love, including particularly detailed anatomical and erotic drawings made by means of collage.
In September 1972, an accident took place and after an unfortunate falling Schultness is found dead.
The first year after his death, all the experience and knowledge accumulated by him is destroyed, demounted and ruined by his relatives (everything was burnt off)…

 My project is based on the story of Schulthess (for example, on one of his parts destroyed, namely the albums which analysed the topic of sexuality). However, it is just one out of the aspects discussing existence.  Gently, by invoking body and sexuality, the shapes of perversions, I will test our perception on the socially engaged topics of identity, sexuality and sex.  It is a visual research which comprises such ageless subjects as beauty, ethics, death and faith, while creating an integral narration, story (installation).
 I mean the human existence and searches for its perception through the images saturated with carnality and presentiment of inevitable demise. Physical condition of the objects depicted by myself is constantly changing; although, very often their usual functions are striven to put to silence. Despite that, they disappear nowhere, and invisible feelings later may turn (and often do) into substance. Texts written, inscribed on a body as the metaphor of needless words, fictitious complex systems and relations which are completely senseless, destructive, finally becoming suicidal. It reminds a spectator that the world in which human sensations are perceived as true in reality are always ambiguous and vague.

Therefore, everything is only about life and its disability in the presence of death...

                                                                                         Laura Guoke