- Venue
- Konrad Fischer Galerie,
- Location
- Germany
Language, a component which is instilled within every one of us, communicating life and establishing relationships wether verbally or through physical visual gestures. There is a vast collection of communication dictionaries compiled of multi cultural language known and unknown to us.
Jeurgen Staacks exhibition ‘Sakha’ at the Konrad Fischer Galerie presents the links between sound, image and language bringing together a selection of installation and visual works communicating the journeys he took between Europe and Asia aiming to discover rare and dying languages. Discovering ‘Sakha’ in Northeast Siberia in 2012 he continued exploring until reaching Oymiakon a small village concealing its own language ‘Ice Whispering’ a voice of which is only awakened within -55°C or colder climate. Capturing the empheralism communication within -57°C temperature, Staack presents us with works of preservation and excavation.
Initially entering the space, the eye does not have much to feast on, but it becomes apparent that the ear is the key motive within this discovery, the eye seeks and the ear discovers something of which we would not primarily be familiar with but gently collects us to reside next to this new language for us to join conversation in. Commanding the room right to me lay 4 small grey boxes, initially they do not seem to command a great deal of my attention, until interrupting their state and become aware of my intervention in the conversation of pattern foot steps emitting from each of the small boxes. ‘Snow Walk’ not only relates my sense of hearing to the notion of sound of walking through snow, but also draws my attention to my own memory of journeying through this weather bringing my own familiarity to the journey, language and relationships our own paths create. Memory being a familiar theme in Staacks work the boxes seem to posses the power to conceal the memory of Staacks presence on his discovery of language, only allowing us to explore his memories when they feel, acting much like that of the language of ice whispering. Continuing my exploration, I find myself in a slightly darker room, facing ‘Oymiakon’ were Valery Vinokurov allows the language of Yakut to be opened up to us in breathy white video flashes and then taken away to be concealed into darkness. Although I am wanting to be within the company of this piece next to me resides a sound concealed by a curtain of which I am cautiously moving away from. I am unaware of what is next to me but taking the plunge I peek my head around the curtain. Darkness and a voice which seems to be approaching me. Nervously I close the curtain, not wanting to be in the company of this being. Is someone there, or am I being played a trick on? Moving away from the voice of the ‘Ice Whispering’ piece I am still curiously drawn back. I come back. Confidently I stand within the blacked out room, closing my eyes and feeling at one with this voice and sound of which I am not familiar but wanting to come close to, understand and be in conversation with.
Although initially I feel the exhibition shows the discovery of language I see that there is much more here to what Staack is trying to do. I see that he has gone out to discover the dying breed of language to preserve, store and keep alive so we too can communicate and experience for ourselves. Stepping out into the Berlin streets I being to think about the language of these streets which is unknown to me, the paths which have crossed where I am standing now of which I should try to understand and preserve the memory of for which I can reflect back on.
