The work of Alicja Kwade (*1979) is inspired by philosophical, scientific and social enquiry. She engages in her sculptures with models and constructs that inform our perceptions of reality, questioning the potential for subjective and objective knowledge.

“In Abwesenheit” (In Absence) is founded on recent works by Kwade that might in a broad sense be read as self-portraits. The artist explores how a person and their physical presence in space can be described from various methodological perspectives.

In the catalogue, Kwade presents historical and contemporary illustrations of some of those systems which serve directly or indirectly as a reference framework for her works. The visual material ranges from anatomical drawings and historical maps to atomic structures seen through an electron microscope. Like Kwade’s works themselves, these illustrations are aesthetic visualisations of abstract scientific and philosophical theories.

The chosen images thus constitute both a collection of materials and a record of the research process undertaken by the artist. At the same time, they create a subtext that connects with the works to form narrative structures.