on focus
from 05.02.2019 to 27.10.2019

Paul Maheke

I Lost Track of the Swarm

In a dimly lit room, a dark figure dances with a light source attached to his body. The beam of light scans the room in the rhythm of the figure’s movements or rotates round the dancer’s body, illuminating it fragmentarily. The viewer does not hear a sound, but the smooth oscillations create an imaginary soundscape. The protagonist intently explores himself and the dark room as a kind of vacuum in which he navigates using his only accessory, the mobile phone with its torch function. The figure at the centre of the image, observed by three cameras from different angles, is the artist Paul Maheke himself, in whose work dance and the exploration of the body act as keys to the search for identity. I Lost Track of the Swarm speaks of anonymity and the loss of an ability to connect in today’s digital society, as well as symbolizing the isolation of the individual in a world of outer and inner migration.

During the first quarter of 2019, the film and video room (whose theme this year is dance in the moving image) will present Nevin Aladağ’s film Familie Tezcan (2001).