Kaikaoss

Spring light Oil on canvas 122x94,5cm

 

First, it’s all about the picture in large format here on the opposite wall. Green leaves that seem to come out of nowhere, are flying in front of a dark foundation. To the right one sees, mostly covered by roses or dahlias, brightly lit, a horse; if one looks a little closer, one notices the leg of a rider hanging down the side. If one pays a little more attention to the surroundings, one realizes that between the leaves, flowers and intensely blue cloth, one can also find part of the face and the two hands.

It was only when I had gotten this far with the first contemplation that I noticed the narrow bright window to the upper left, illuminating the scene in the foreground. And then faces watching everything also showed up out of the dark. They can be seen only in the weak pool of light coming from the little window.

 

So it wasn’t at all as I had thought at first – leaves, flowers, horse and rider can’t be out in the open, everything is locked in a dark room that gets its light from a small window. It wasn’t until I had gotten this far that it became clear to me where all that takes place: it must be a kind of cinema – a film is played through the window above, and the heads in the dark that can only be seen dimly by us are the moviegoers. The horse, the rider, the flowers and the leaves, however, are mere images, they are part of the film that is shown.

So the picture consists of two different reality levels – on one, the „more real“ level per se, we have a dark movie theater with viewers and a window through which it is projected. On the second reality level there is what is happening in the foreground – and that is the „film“. Two things are really very astounding about that – on one hand it is the evident fact that the „film“ with a horse, rider etc. looks much more real than the „reality“ of the auditorium, but also, on the other hand, that we are watching the film from „behind“ in that sense – or at least from the side. The „viewers“ in the room must perceive a completely different image than we do.

In addition, the scene in the foreground has such a strong presence that it also goes beyond the pool of light. It has acquired a life of its own in that sense which makes it independent of the projector. That reminded me of a film by Woody Allen – „The Purple Rose of Cairo“ – in which a movie hero literally steps out of a film and enters „reality“. In this sense also, the horse and rider – even though they are mostly covered by the flowers – seem more real than the viewers‘ heads which are only dimly to be seen.

 

So here, Kaikaoss plays with the different reality levels in an extremely skillful manner – with hiding and hinting he allows new realities to form.

 

Dr. Rainer Grimm