OLAF BREUNING

WOODWORLD

“Woodworld” was the first large installation I created after Beatrix Ruf invited me for a solo show at Kunsthaus Glarus in Switzerland. The Year was 1998. At that time, I was very much interested in transforming a video installation into a physical experience. The film “Woodworld” looked like a music video, live performance, or a strange dream. A Range Rover parked in a forest surrounded by effect machines such as smoke, bubble, and snow generators. All effects have been coordinated with the music. In the car, one could spot some people with white makeup. The soundtrack was hypnotic and uplifting dark. My idea was to transform the mood of the visitors through the physical experience, the walk through the installation. Narrow paths, smoke, flashing lights, and thunder made the walk a frightening adventure. Arriving in the screening room, they already lost some of the museum reality and entered a fictional world – ready to watch “Woodworld”. After that, I recreated this installation for the second time at Centre d’art Contemporain in Geneva, Switzerland. One of my artworks i am still very proud of. 

Woodworld, 1998, Fake wood panels, smoke machine, lights, wood chips, projector, sound system, hardware, digital video “Woodworld”, 10:00 minutes, Music: Manuel Stagars, Dimensions variable
Woodworld, 1998, C-Print, 3 Ed. + 2 AP: 122 x 155 cm (48 x 61 in.), 10 Ed. + 2 AP: 32 x 40 cm (12 x 15 in.)

Woodworld, 1999, 10:00 Minutes, Music: Manuel Stagars