Paula Doepfner

For more pictures and a detailed interview over at Castor und Pollux, click here.

In her work the artist is particularly interested in the tension of the ephemeral and the transformation of certain materials. Objects that dissolve into their constituent shape and thereby initiate a new process, are an essential element of her work.
In some of her works water or rather ice are a central aspect and essential element. The fact that objects can be trapped in ice but will eventually released and that for example plants will pass over into a new process, as soon as they are surrounded by water, is a recurring theme in her work. Her work involving glass also play with the possibility of enclosing something and yet making it visible for everyone.

By displaying damaged panels, dried flowers and pigments Paula Doepfner creates poetic bodies of work, that are kind of reminiscent of her blocks of ice.
Her fascination for organic structures are mirrored in her drawings. Carefully adding dot by dot, she creates structures that remind us on nerve cells. Her drawings on incredibly sheer paper seem to float in the showroom. This way she manages to create a prominent contrast between her work and the exhibition room. ‘My work is often not completed after the duration of display, the process is perpetual’.

Paule Doepfner’s performances give her the opportunity to include music in her work. Music has been an important aspect to her all her life. Sound is always a part of her overall concept. In her performances she can totally concentrate on sound. While studying Fine Arts at the UdK in Berlin she also audited with composing.

Paula tells us that she will be exhibiting a body of work made of ice as well as a few smaller ‘glass-works’ during abc. ‘I find it incredibly griping to watch ice melt and how the water begins to drip on a metal plate, creating a sound. The metal plate, which isn’t necessarily referred to as an organic component, begins to change, begins to corrode. It will change it’s color and the plants, that lie on such metal plates in several of my works, will begin to grow.’
In one of her works she writes down her dreams for one whole year, freezes the paper in a block of ice, exhibits the ice in a showroom, letting the ice melt to water. The water nearly dissolves the ink written notes. ‘In this work I dealt with unconscious structures and processes that happen very deep in ourselves that are hardly tangible. I don’t necessarily choose materials because of what they symbolize, but for what they are, and by melting the ice releases something that will either proliferate or be destroyed.’

Images by Caroline Kurze Text by Hannah Edwards