The Lighthouse
Tobias Kaspar
10 June - 22 July, 2023
A24 Films production studio commissioned Tobias Kaspar to create a series of ink drawings for the collector's box set of the film “The Lighthouse”, 2019. Directed by Robert Eggers and starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, it draws inspiration from a re-envisioning of an Edgar Allan Poe's unfinished short story, incorporating visuals from 1890s New England photography, 1930s maritime-themed French cinema, and symbolist art. Breaking out of the white cube and questioning established display formats, Tobias Kaspar sets out to contextualise the commissioned drawings in the actual lighthouse room of Lighthaus.
With the intention of expanding his artistic production related to 'The Lighthouse' and expressing a critical perspective towards the film, Tobias Kaspar decided to make use of a selection of materials left behind in the attic of Lighthaus. With these unclaimed legacies, likely belonged to a previous artist or gallery, Tobias crafted a setting and conceptual installations among props and sculptures. An overall choreography, yet every single piece - the wardrobe, a draped fabric, a gym handle, and a painting - is a work of art.
The Mermaid,' the central installation, revolves around an old wooden wardrobe. A slit has been carved at the center of the closet's doors that allow the viewing of 'The Lighthouse' footage: the clips jump between the scene of a crazed Robert Pattinson masturbating while holding a curved wooden mermaid and images of an alleged mermaid. The mermaid sculpture-wardrobe is reminiscent of Duchamp's last artwork, the 'Étant donnés: 1° la chute d'eau, 2° le gaz d'éclairage . . . (Given: 1. The Waterfall, 2. The Illuminating Gas . . . )’, 1946-1966, a controversial installation embodies the voyeurism inherent in the exhibition concept. It invites the viewer to peer through the 'voyeur holes', directly between the legs of a lying woman.
Kaspar deeply recalls and deconstructs toxic masculinity within the context of power struggles, representative of the elements of the Oedipus complex into which the film 'The Lighthouse' delves. As in the film 'The Lighthouse' the imaginary of the mermaid is the catalyst for the characters' disorienting descent into self-destructive mania, within the exhibition, 'The Mermaid' acts as an igniter, welcoming the visitor and suggests a potential exploration of the unconscious, of repressed desires, and the fragility of the human psyche. Lighthaus’ attic environment allows for multiple interpretations, creating a symbolic space to address these complex issues and dynamics.
Tobias Kaspar is an artist renowned for his thought-provoking exploration of consumer culture and its impact on individual identity and behavioral patterns in contemporary society. In many of his series, Kaspar has focused on the fashion industry, as a reflective tool to challenge dominant cultural narratives. Kaspar encourages viewers to question their relationship with mechanisms that shape the processes of value creation and taste formation, to investigate notions of authorship and authenticity, and to consider how these factors shape their sense of self and their place in society.
Born in 1984, Tobias Kaspar lives in Riga and Zurich. In the early 2010s, his work was recognised for the first time in an institutional setting in the context of a discourse on post-appropriation art, and to date, it has been exhibited and collected by numerous institutions and museums. He is represented by Galerie Peter Kilchmann (Zurich, Paris), Galerie Urs Meile (Beijing, Luzern, Zurich), FOUNDRY SEOUL (Seoul), Galerie Lars Friedrich (Berlin), and VI VII (Oslo).
Text by Agnese Politi
