Wendy Wischer

The Sixth Borough (2010)

Wendy Wischer’s installation is a re-claiming of space by nature. Nature returns to its original form appropriating those spaces that were abandoned some time ago. The trees turn in their magical form and lead us to see our reflection in it. Branches and flowers are looking out into the light on a journey full of illusion but real to our imagination.

The journey of Wendy Wischer for this site-specific installation is based on the re-appropriation of formerly architectural spaces by the trees found all over the island. With a minimalist approach to the aesthetics, her work is a call to the reflection of our existence in relation to the forces of the universe and the established connections between time, illusion and movement. Wischer’s inspiration to take over the house with nature and using their corners comes from Gaston Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space where he states, “…every corner in a house, every angle in a room, every inch of secluded space in which we like to hide, or withdraw into ourselves, is a symbol of solitude for the imagination; that is to say, it is the germ of a room, or of a house…the corner that is “lived in” tends to reject and restrain, even to hide, life.  The corner becomes the negation of the Universe.”

Using mirror tiles and light, the sculptures allows the viewer to see his/her reflection, not only in the physical sense of the mirror, but also in the space itself, comprised of architectural restraints, imaginary passage, personal histories and natural forces.