Pascale Birchler — «ICH WARTE AUF EIN GEWITTER»

Pascale Birchler invites us to a new relationship with time, a slowing down that rouses us into some kind of suspension, a deliberate lag to make space for reflection. In unison with this thought is how Birchler perceptively works with space in an all-encompassing manner. «ICH WARTE AUF EIN GEWITTER» is treated as a tableaux. Sculpture, painting, installation and sound are interwoven in what becomes an unfolding of a plot, one that is non-linear, relating to the outside and inside, intimate yet also evasive. A recent development in her work is the inclusion of sound and in this instance, she has collaborated with composer and musician Dimitri Howald.

Standing in the space is a prominent sculpture Still Untitled (2024). I sense an affinity to the painterly world of intimism, a 20th century art movement concerned with psychological experiences, the personal and domestic space. The bodily gestures suggest introspection. It seems to me that they are in a liminal state: the self transforming, like a snake shedding its skin. The stride reflective of a life force and movement. Whether it is a new or old direction is unclear. Dry leaves are placed in one part of the space, another image of renewal. Painted walls, translucent curtains lining windows and walls, a lantern, a bench, a confined entryway, a cabinet, all vocabularies pertaining to the encoded world of decor, the intimacies of the interior.

The title of the exhibition comes from Søren Kierkegaard’s book Repetition: “I am expecting a thunderstorm... and repetition. Yet— if only the thunderstorm were to come! (...) [It] will crush my whole personality— I am ready for it. It will make me unrecognizable in my own eyes...”1 Inner turmoil pointing to the self in shambles. Glass, glossy ceramic surfaces and mirrors throughout the space engender a sense of emotional slipperiness with their refractive and uncatchable quality. The artist has keyed into that energetic moment of what she calls the “negativity of transformation.” The contradictions of psychic restoration and the strangeness of self. Passing through a threshold. Moving forward but also backward. Like a storm of the mind that repeats itself.

The first part of the sound composition is replete with echoing and atmospheric sounds, whereas in the second portion a melody begins, this movement prompting the small figures to dance. The storm is apparent throughout. High-contrast scales of the body, large and small, create an impactful composition in the space.

This project has been developed as an exhibition in two parts. Like a play staged into two acts, they are relational and complementary. The second exhibition will take place at Kunsthalle Luzern in October. Staging permeates the exhibition with carefully orchestrated sceneries. John Berger has wonderfully pointed out the wondrous connection between theatre and catharsis: “Theatre began with the need to make sense out of the mystery and pain and passion for life. And in doing this it offers catharsis for those participating and watching. And the first meaning of catharsis is cleansing, which is part of the traditional practice of dressing a wound.”2 The artist produces a zone that allows for time to listen, time for extended observation, time for reverie, and time to be swept away by the storm again and again. – Linda Jensen