Radical Relaxation – Stress and Freedom

Overview

Jorinde Voigt’s practice is shaped by everyday acts and interaction with her environment as well as a steady stream of reading. In pursuit of greater subjective insight, Voigt has developed a visual grammatology comprised of straight and curved lines, numbers, words and collage elements. Her graphic system enables her to project objects under investigation into a field of inquiry and interrelation.

In her SB13 work, Voigt is inspired by philosopher Peter Sloterdijk’s interpretations of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s portrayal of being adrift in a rowboat as an unexpected expression of freedom described as ‘radical relaxation’. This notion stems from a rapturous state of daydreaming that affords a level of seclusion from civilisation and a necessary condition of solitude.

Radical Relaxation – Stress and Freedom (2016) explores this transportative state of being. Comprised of a seven-metre-long wooden racing boat and a series of seven drawings, the presentation features modules of amorphous shape, size and colour that appear to occupy three-dimensional space. Various gradations of blue and red suggest the presence of water and organ-like formations, respectively, while yellow is used to trace Voigt’s own corporeal imprints made by her movement on the paper, emulating the act of getting in and out of the boat and lying briefly next to it.

This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 13.