The Sea Within- The See Within
莎拉 • 威斯特法爾 | Sarah WESTPHAL
The Sea Within - The See Within
2021
Mixed Media
Dimensions Variable
Courtesy Studio Sarah Westphal
In a scenery scape of light and shadows - a sea of light. Withdrawn from the outside world the viewer is immersed into a moving image. Gigantic tentacles of an octopus hug and snuggle the wall, synchronizing with the viewer's breath while haunting the space. The work investigates the fluid image as an image to come, performative that unfolds in time with an entanglement of water, light, dust particles, reflections, and colors.
In her multidisciplinary work, Sarah Westphal explores notions such as time, perception, and consciousness. Space serves as a container and projection screen of these elements. What is the relationship between people, objects, and their surroundings? A key part of this investigation focuses on how qualities of place contribute to our human experience. How do we perceive the world around us? What stories can be read from the layered history of imprints?
In a kind of archaeological research, Westphal (re)constructs missing links in site-specific installations that can be physically experienced. Sculptures, photographs, and projections shift between two- and three-dimensionality, between reality and fiction. With an evocative tactility and high sensuality, Westphal opens up spaces inviting the viewer to get lost in them. The entire oeuvre is a labyrinth in which to wander and lose one's way, a mental space that seduces and deceives. Westphal’s slow process of waiting, watching, where the gaze sees, feels, hears, and tastes could be an antidote to the ephemerality of images nowadays.
Artist description
Sarah Westphal is a visual artist based in Belgium and Germany. She studied 3D/Multimedia and photography at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) and (DKO) Ghent (BE). Furthermore, she is laureate of the Higher Institute for Fine Arts (HISK), Ghent (BE) since 2009. From 2015 she was researcher on the two years international and interdisciplinary project at LUCA School of Arts (BE). Westphal was selected for Turning Photography, a platform initiated on occasion of the Belgian Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale to turn the spotlight on some of the most audacious artists working in the medium of photography in Belgium today. Her work was several times honoured with grants and prizes.