Exhibition information
Stephan Schenk | Forest Panorama
Galerie m Bochum is showing in its exhibition series FEATURE the 10-part forest panorama “Inyo, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, USA” created by Stephan Schenk in 2008.
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is located in the White Mountains of California and is named after the pine trees that grow there, which are over 4,000 years old. This venerable heritage, along with the bizarre shapes of the trees scattered at the forest edge, give this vast landscape its special appeal.
Schenk has composed ten black-and-white details into a 360-degree panorama, showing from a single standpoint a sweeping view of the entire forest. Variable treatment and grouping of the individual gelatin silver prints in the respective spatial context results in more or less dynamic-looking processes taking place against the horizon line and among the more striking trees. The forest thus reveals continually new perspectives to us.
The question of perception is an important theme of the series. While the panorama at first appears to be a coherent whole, upon closer inspection the eye of the beholder becomes frustrated by the overlapping of the motifs at the edges of the individual images. This optical break exposes the volatility of our vision and enables us to appraise the work detached from its subject.
Stephan Schenk began producing his forest panoramas in 2002 with photographs of the Bavarian Forest National Park. In the meantime, he has created 38 such 360-degree views. Schenk deals in this series of works with the forest in the broadest sense, exploring the many meanings it has for us as inhabitants of the planet.
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is located in the White Mountains of California and is named after the pine trees that grow there, which are over 4,000 years old. This venerable heritage, along with the bizarre shapes of the trees scattered at the forest edge, give this vast landscape its special appeal.
Schenk has composed ten black-and-white details into a 360-degree panorama, showing from a single standpoint a sweeping view of the entire forest. Variable treatment and grouping of the individual gelatin silver prints in the respective spatial context results in more or less dynamic-looking processes taking place against the horizon line and among the more striking trees. The forest thus reveals continually new perspectives to us.
The question of perception is an important theme of the series. While the panorama at first appears to be a coherent whole, upon closer inspection the eye of the beholder becomes frustrated by the overlapping of the motifs at the edges of the individual images. This optical break exposes the volatility of our vision and enables us to appraise the work detached from its subject.
Stephan Schenk began producing his forest panoramas in 2002 with photographs of the Bavarian Forest National Park. In the meantime, he has created 38 such 360-degree views. Schenk deals in this series of works with the forest in the broadest sense, exploring the many meanings it has for us as inhabitants of the planet.
