Izidora | LETHE
trace_less
The conceptual exhibition trace_less by Izidora I LETHE unfolds across the entire Löwenbräukunst 270 complex, from the entrance hall, along the walls and windows, and up the stairwell to the third floor. LETHE activates the site with several interrelating elements: vivid orange pigment traces, monotypes on mirrored silverpaper, a sound composition that recurs periodically, and mirrored text on the glass façade.
In trace_less, LETHE creates a choreography of its own in which different material strata interact in a precisely paced sequence. At its core is the sensual unveiling of (mirror-)smooth conventions of art/spaces and a shift in focus toward the removal or leaving of traces.
The orange “wall-glows” (GLOWS) mark the walls. The workers who clean the site daily leave their “glow” behind. Following the “inner choreography” of their exhale, they apply color where dust tends to gather—each “performer” in a slightly different hue, mixed with a breath of earth pigment.
18 monotypes (trace_less (amour) (1213) (di), etc.) form another layer of the intervention and are set in standardized clip frames. Subtracted fragments of on-site found “soft vandalisms” - engraved messages, tags, and marks - are transferred onto a mirroring surface. The de-polished high-gloss material is then overprinted with a conventional opaque white. As in monotype printing, where a so-called “ghost” often remains after the first pull - a faint, barely graspable second impression - these surfaces point to the afterlife of the trace in its disappearance. The white layer references the white walls and evokes cleaning agents, as if the surface were lightly etched.
Every full hour, the seven-minute composition disunified ensemble plays, combining dissonant and arrhythmic tempos. The piece echoes throughout the night and is audible to everyone who visits, works in or passes through the building.
Two texts and the word "(glows)" appear in a cursive, mirrored script on the glass façade. One poem condenses the material elements of the work as if it were a recipe. Viewers see themselves partially reflected within the mirrored lettering.
Cool, formal matter engages in dialogue with fleeting traces and gestures of temporary inscription, creating a sensuous experience of passage zones. In an era of rigid categorical boundaries and barely endurable social rifts, LETHE generates a tension-filled space where room for profound reflection emerges - a poetic gesture with political resonance.
The exhibition is organized by Edition VFO for Löwenbräukunst and is supported by the Ernst und Olga Gubler-Hablützel Foundation.
Curated by David Khalat.
