Yadegar Asisi

TITANIC

The Promise of Modernity

The TITANIC Panorama is less about the actual disaster in 1912, and more about the way the destruction of the passenger ship represents the hubris of man, who has been deluding himself into believing he can conquer nature from the beginning of time.

Visitors find themselves some 3,800 m below the surface of the water. Diffuse, artistic lighting allows guests to explore the tragic extent of the disaster in a large-scale circular image. The two parts of the devastated wreck can be recognised, as well as many individual daily items, technical equipment and luggage strewn about. The atmospheric sounds composed by Eric Babak for the exhibition heighten the impressions of guests in the contemplative space.

Asisi uses the Panorama to stimulate a sense of fascination for the grand feat of engineering that gave way to the British liner, while also questioning our ability to ever truly overcome nature. The display of the destroyed wreckage in the depths of the Atlantic also reflects on the fleeting nature of human existence and accomplishments. Thousands of tons of steel corrode on the sea floor and the once splendid furnishings and technical equipment of the approx. 40,000 tonne passenger ship resemble an expanse of ruins being slowly reclaimed by nature.

Past exhibition locations of TITANIC

PANOMETER LEIPZIG
2017 – 2019 in Leipzig

PANORAMA XXL
2019 – 2020 in Rouen (F)

Panorama music and soundscape by Eric Babak

From the pilot project EVEREST onwards, Yadegar Asisi is collaborating with the well-known composer and pianist Eric Babak. In close collaboration between the two artists, the impressive soundscape of the panoramas is harmonized directly in the exhibition space with the lighting patterns to create an atmospheric overall installation. Depending on the project, the productions use, among other things, large orchestras and choirs, but also minimalist synthesizer sounds in combination with everyday noises to make the special atmosphere of the themes audible and tangible in the constant change of panorama sequences.

www.ericbabak.com