May 3–5, 2024
project office of DFI e.V.
Eiskellerberg 1-3
40213 Düsseldorf, Germany
Opening:
FRI from 6 pm
Open:
SAT – SUN from 3–6 pm
Exhibition
Tassilo Lantermann, Innerspace, Projektbüro DFI e.V., 2024
Innerspace - Complications may include...
The round photo with a diameter of just 7 cm seems to have been taken with a telescope or microscope. The technical-looking metal frame reinforces this impression. The fascinating photographs belong to the series “voyage, voyage” by Tassilo Lantermann. They show strange streaks of color, from pink-orange to grey-greenish, or bubbles of unknown matter. There are strange shapes, such as mountain ranges, perhaps Martian landscapes and dark abysses next to them. The images do not seem to explain themselves simply by looking at them; the mind tries to fathom what the eye cannot grasp. Oscillating back and forth between the macrocosm of stellar nebulae, unfathomable underwater worlds or a microscopic world, anything seems possible. Where context is lacking, we are inspired above all by the seemingly abstract compositions of form and color.
And yet we want an explanation; what do we see, what did the photographer and camera see? This is where it gets exciting: the artist has photographed himself. The (photographic) self-portrait is a genre in its own right, which Tassilo Lantermann here takes beyond previous boundaries. What is essential in this series is that the artist has brought himself and the camera closer together than we can imagine, and yet has removed himself from the imaging process. The images in the series are taken from the video recordings of a so-called pillcam. This is normally used in the medical field to obtain images of the digestive tract as gently as possible. In contrast to other methods, the body of the person being examined remains unharmed during this capsule endoscopy. The Pillcam is actually a tiny capsule-shaped camera that is swallowed and takes up to 7 pictures per second of its journey through the oesophagus, stomach and intestines and transmits them wirelessly to a recorder.[1] This journey is also reflected in the series title “voyage, voyage”.
Who doesn't spontaneously think of the animated series “Once upon a time...”? The episode “Once upon a time ... life” (1986) showed the shrunken protagonists on a journey through the human body. Just one year later, there was also a Hollywood film entitled “Innerspace“, which treated the journey into the body as more of an adventure comedy with Dennis Quaid in the leading role. What once seemed like pure science fiction is now an integral part of diagnostics. Imaging techniques have constantly expanded medicine and our understanding of the body, diseases and biological relationships. The most famous example is probably X-ray technology, followed later by computer tomography and MRI.
X-ray technology has also found its way into art; Katharina Sieverding - to name just one example - has, for instance, superimposed skull X-ray images with riser images in her “Steigbild” series - which corresponds to a kind of blood diagnosis on paper. The diagnostic imaging procedures are thus questioned as to their informative value and their possibilities beyond their medical function.[2] Tassilo Lantermann takes a similar approach; after the camera has left his body, the artist selects photos from the material recorded by the camera and brings them together as a series.
The technical challenges faced by the Pillcam are fundamental: Lighting, image sharpness, distance to the subject, motion blur and angle of view. However, Tassilo Lantermann has no influence over any of this; he places the documentation in an artistic context through his choice of images.
The approach seems to be the opposite of the work he has usually done. Tassilo Lantermann builds spaces, “holistically tangible spatial atmospheres”. With his background of working on stage sets and studying sculpture in Thomas Grünfeld's class at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, he creates walk-in installations that transform spaces or create them from scratch.
How does this fit in with the seemingly externally determined photographic work? We must not forget that the work begins with the decision to swallow the Pillcam. Tassilo Lantermann uses his own body both as a medium and as a motif. He also exposes himself to risks, because as the manufacturer notes in the small print: “Complications may include but are not limited to: Capsule retention, aspiration, obstruction, perforation, mucosal injury, and bleeding“[3]. The whole thing is therefore initially a performative approach, which then leads to visual material from which the artist makes a selection. This selection was based on compositional and aesthetic criteria, whereby he repeatedly compared and weighed up individual images against each other on the screen. Finally, he arrived at a selection of 158 pieces, all of which were initially printed on a silver metallic paper. A new selection was made for the exhibition, after which the photographs were individually framed. By displaying them in a metal frame specifically adapted to the image format, he brings them into the space as sculptural objects - they are now transferred from the intimate, intrinsic interior space of the body to the public space.
After our initial fascination with the colors, the compositions and the serial objects, we have probably found a slightly different attitude through our knowledge of the creation process. The origin of the pictures influences our perception. On the one hand, this can be fascination with the unknown and previously unseen, but it can also manifest itself in confusion and shuddering. We never see our (or other people's) bodies from the inside - on the contrary, our brain often reacts to blood and wounds with disgust or even fear. It is all too understandable, because if we see something like this, there is clearly something wrong with our body. In the best case scenario, we never see the inside of our body. The inside of our body is indeed as alien and distant to us as starry nebulae. And so the original title of the 1987 film seems very apt as a description of the visual experience: Innerspace, as a contrast to Outerspace, the universe. Both are equally unattainable, incomprehensible - and beautiful in a bizarre way.
Ines Rüttinger
[1] https://www.medtronic.com/covidien/en-us/products/capsule-endoscopy.html
Tassilo Lantermann, Innerspace, Projektbüro DFI e.V., 2024
Tassilo Lantermann, Innerspace, Projektbüro DFI e.V., 2024
Tassilo Lantermann, Innerspace, Projektbüro DFI e.V., 2024
Tassilo Lantermann, Innerspace, Projektbüro DFI e.V., 2024
Tassilo Lantermann, Innerspace, Projektbüro DFI e.V., 2024
With kind support:
Kulturamt der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf