Projected against a wall that follows the Lokremise’s rotational design, the video Landfall stages a panoramic view over what appears to be a vast landscape at sunrise or sunset, as perceived through the eyes of an enigmatic men in a nondescript uniform, a “Rückenfigur.” This trope, which consists of a figure, seen from the back, contemplating an evocative and often dramatic landscape, recurs throughout the history of painting and cinema alike. In subverting the figure’s object of contemplation, replacing a distant land with a mere maquette, Kilfa’s work stages a form of playacting that both exposes and deflates the pomposity of this heroic set-up.

Two additional works are part of Wonder Lust: both of which further break down the production of “wonder” as a prop. The print Landfall at Sunrise is a still, derived from an unused cut of the video, in which we see, in a large close-up, the reflection of the landscape in the figure’s eyes, bringing yet another point of view to bear on the figure’s relation to the landscape. A “Wind Machine” is exhibited as well, a foley instrument that spins against fabric to create the illusion of the sound of wind, originally used in the orchestral compositions of romantic operas such as Wagner’s Flying Dutchman and later on in film.

This exhibition is additionally supported by the Dr. Georg und Josi Guggenheim-Stiftung.

Curated by Senior Curator Melanie Bühler