Review: “Deep Web” Installation by Christopher Bauder and Robert Henke
Shown at Kraftwerk Berlin, Berlin in February 2016
Written by L. Ducharme
Written by L. Ducharme
One rainy Tuesday night in Berlin, Kraftwerk: a local Kreuzberg institution opens for a unique visual and musical installation piece by Christopher Bauder and Robert Henke.
Bauder, a German interaction designer and media artist, partners with musician and composer Henke to create the Deep Web installation. Initially arranged for the renowned Fêtes des Lumières in Lyon, the original presentation scheduled for December 2015 was cancelled due to threats following the Paris terrorist attacks in November. Consequently, the exhibition was the moved to Berlin to be displayed at Kraftwerk, a resurrected abandoned power plant in East Berlin.
The piece features a 25-metre-long grid network of liquid-filled spheres, targeted by powerful laser beams to create a three dimensional light display. Synchronised with Henke’s layered and immersive electronic music, the spheres and beams move up and down, illuminate and disappear, resulting in a masterful display: a complex web of light. As the installation progresses, the sense of a dialogue unfolds, the movement of pattern and colour illustrate a powerful analogy to the modern digital world and social networks.
The reference to digital networks is vivid through the dynamic laser interplay, bright links of light and web of interconnections. However, the exhibit’s unique and unforeseen backdrop at Kraftwerk only increases its potency. The historical setting of a cavernous, abandoned power plant, built at the same time as the Berlin wall, strikes an interesting contrast to the futuristic and modern piece. The rough concrete architecture of the building, raw and worn from years of industry, is a highly evocative setting in itself. Kraftwerk was resurrected as an event space for concerts and exhibitions in 2006, quickly becoming a local institution and cultural hub. The mystique of dark and cavernous halls provides an excellent backdrop for the vibrant complexity of Deep Web, and position the exhibition as a significant installation and contribution to local culture.