constantin jaxy | hippie shake
a shadow installation by the german visual artist constantin jaxy / location: boiler room in the hallway
m4v-file / dim.: 640 x 480 pixels / file size:13,8 mb / dur.: 1:11 min
music : lounge electrique 4 / track 2: amazing discoveries, move d, 7:55 min.
fundort is the title of the photograph: a clearing in the forest, bordered by pine trees and a solitary birch. _the ground is covered with half-decayed leaves. _a colourless, gloomy place. _grays prevail
it's autumn in the picture. _in the background, the forest's edge lightens through a lattice of treetrunks. _i get a sneaking feeling that i'm looking at a picture of a crime scene, taken for trace investigation purposes. _ sometimes my imagination runs off with me
the clearing is strewn with corroded metal plates, dull-gray by the humus that covers them. _between the remnants, left of centre, protruding from the soil, a familiar shape stands out against the drabness: a rim with a sloppy tyre around it. _ a characteristic wheel arch curves over it. _we're looking at a decomposing volkswagen bus. _year of construction? _date of dump? _how much time does metal need to rust away?
the actual subject of the photograph is located bottom right: the twisted skeleton of the car's back seat, overturned. _its springs exposed since the corset of upholstery decayed. _the photograph dates back to november 2009. _the forest is located near the german city of bremen. _constantin took the picture on one of his rambles, searching for material, the unexpected and inspiration, preferably querfeldein, on unpaved paths: a hiking tour as the physical equal of an associative process. _constantin visited the same place before in 1991. _ he incorporated the broken vw logo he found at that time in a previous shadow installation
the core of hippie shake consists of relics from the hippie era: three back seat springs of the hippie bus (modern archeological finds) were collected and rearranged: "nicht in der alten funktion von abfedern und auch nicht zum hüpfen und springen gebracht, als mögliche assoziation zur hippie-zeit, sondern in horizontale bewegungungsschleifen zu einer schattenprojektion versetzt. _der meditative zeitaspekt steht dabei im vordergrund, eine art zeitschleifensondierung in verbindung mit musikakustik von heute. _die installation nimmt man über die immateriellen schatten wahr, in diesem fall fast eine psychedelische reminiszenz an die hippie-zeit"
hippie shake is a contemporary variant of the classic liquid slide
2 sketches for hippie shake
view behind the scenes: line up in the boiler room