INFINITE DEEP DAVID LYNCH
26.03.21 - 25.07.21
(extended)
David Lynch’s five-decade career has followed multiple different artistic paths. The enigmatic visual language of this prolific artist can be identified both within his iconic films and his visual art. Since the 1980s, he has developed an impressive photographic body of work. Visiting factory sites while in England for the making of the film The Elephant Man (1980), Lynch started to shoot photographs of the buildings. This also marks the beginning of his fascination for industrial architecture. In Lynch’s photographic work, there is a threatening atmosphere, one might say of fear. His photographs depict the labyrinthine passages, the detritus and deterioration of these man-made structures, described by Lynch as haunting “cathedrals” of a bygone industrial era. For 30 years, he photographed these monuments of industrialization, remnants of a now lost world, when factories were proud milestones of progress but today are deserted wastelands, with their decaying walls, industrial waste and detritus. His obsession with the exterior and interior of the factories, shot in New York, New Jersey, Poland, England and Germany, seems a perfect setting for stories loaded with the emotional aura so characteristic of his films. The machinery, brick structures, cornices, domes and towers, portals and high windows attract his eye. He studies these abandoned spaces to capture the shapes and textures. These details are haunting to him, dark and beautiful at the same time. There is a sense of melancholy and desolation in the functionless buildings.
The Snowmen series (published in book form in 2007) give also a sense of Lynchian atmosphere that is dark and enigmatic: these family houses photographed in winter seem vaguely, disturbingly threatened from outside. There is no sense of domestic happiness behind the closed curtains. Lynch captures his subjects when the snow is melting which gives a sad element to the images, heightened by the fact that there is no human presence, and even less any sign of children at play in these gardens. With Lynch, even a seemingly innocent subject as a snowman becomes dark and foreboding. In a similar way to the photographs of the factories with their decay, there is a mysterious tension in this work. Again, the viewer is left alone with a strange feeling. It is a theme that is eminently part of Lynch’s universe but even when it’s so dark, there are glimmers of light, beauty, and even humor in these photographs.
In a narrative way too, Lynch’s nudes have a fearful mood. The human bodies that appear in the images are consistently deformed, incomplete, reinforcing the sense of horror. There is a palpable feeling of pain. The Distorted Nudes is reminiscent of the way Surrealists frequently portrayed women’s physicality. Lynch depicts a variety of bodies and manipulates them until they shift towards the abstract as if he invites us to plunge into the depths of the unconscious mind. Lynch portrays a world that is singular, intriguing – but above all, captivating.
CURATOR Nathalie Herschdorfer
David Lynch by Josh Telles
DAVID LYNCH
David Lynch (American, b. 1946) works and lives in Los Angeles. A director, screenwriter and producer, he is also an accomplished painter, musician, designer and photographer. He initially devoted himself to painting: in 1966 he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, where he created his first short film. In 1970, he moved to Los Angeles. The making of his first film, Eraserhead (1977) was an overwhelming experience for him: he lived among the sets; he produced, built, painted, and carved everything to create a specific world and atmosphere. With Eraserhead, which would become a cult film, Lynch did not use a preconceived script, but instead followed an expressive creative process stemming from his practice as a visual artist. Moreover, he considers his early films as “moving paintings”. The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive (2001) each brought him an Oscar nomination for Best Director. Wild at Heart (1990) won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Dune (1984), Lost Highway (1997), Inland Empire (2006) have been honoured with numerous awards, and the television series Twin Peaks (1990-1991) became a worldwide hit, long before the era of TV series.
Over the last 50 years, Lynch has learned to develop ideas that can be translated into any medium: music, wood, paintings, films, commercials, or photography. He spends periods where he concentrates on his painting and drawing, or makes lithographic prints. The art of Lynch has been shown in numerous exhibitions around the world which gave him recognition in the art world. In his house in Los Angeles, he has a painting studio, a woodworking shop as Lynch has also been involved in furniture making, and he has even built a mixing stage and a recording studio. He regularly invites musicians and singers to make albums together, and records soundtracks for his own films. Fifteen years ago, he began creating experimental short films and discovered the freedom of digital filmmaking. As taking photographs is an essential part of filmmaking, it was when scouting for locations for The Elephant Man in the late 1970s that Lynch developed a serious love for photography which is still true today.
Info
duration
Friday March 26 - Sunday July 25th 2021 (extended)
opening days
WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY
OPENING HOURS
WEDNSDAY - THURSDAY 14:00 to 18:00 h
FRIDAY 11:00 to 21:00 h
SATURDAY & SUNDAY 11:00 to 17:00 h
location
IPFO House of Photography
Kirchgasse 10
4600 Olten / Switzerland
prices
ADULTS CHF 20.–
STUDENTS CHF 15.–
SENIOR CITIZENS CHF 15.–
PROMOTION
If you travel by train you can use the following discount codes:
ADULTS 25% reduction
Discount code for ticketing: LYNCHTRAIN25
STUDENTS & SENIOR CITIZENS 10% reduction
Discount code for ticketing: LYNCHTRAIN10
These codes are only valid in combination with a valid public transport ticket. Both vouchers must be presented together at the entrance in the museum. The code must be entered in CAPITAL letters when booking in Eventfrog.ch at checkout.