CATARACT (concrete)

Australia, 2020

Daniel von Sturmer. Aotearoa New Zealand

Aluminium structure, LCD screens, HD video. Indefinite loop

Commissioned by ACMI

Artwork ACMI commissions On display
Photograph by Egmont Contreras

Exploding fireworks, bubbles in the atmosphere, an untouched swimming pool.

Small everyday moments of existence are presented across 60 screens as a complex cacophony of events in CATARACT (concrete). This dynamic and overwhelming assemblage of images reflects the abundance of moments and messages we encounter in the world, which is represented as a complex and synthesised totality. But with so much happening, how do we focus on a singular experience and create meaning?

That is the central question von Sturmer raises in this multi-screen work, which uses impromptu recordings and tabletop experiments to invite the viewer to negotiate between singular moments and discordant fragments of experience.

Artist bio

Daniel von Sturmer is an artist working with video, photography and installation. His works orchestrate a field of relations between things and people, light and space, video and time; where the encounter between audience and artwork tests the ways in which we conventionally view artworks in a gallery.


In 2007 he represented Australia at the 52nd Venice Biennale, showing in the Australian Pavilion. He has exhibited at numerous public venues including the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne; Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; The Gothenburg Museum of Art, Sweden; and the Hamburger Bahnhoff Museum, Berlin. Recent solo exhibitions include CATARACT at Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne (2019), Luminous Figures at Starkwhite Gallery, Auckland (2017), Electric Light at Anna Schwartz Gallery (2016), Focus & Field and Camera Ready Actions at Young Projects Gallery, Los Angeles (2014); Video Works, Karsten Schubert Gallery, London (2010) and Set Piece, Site Gallery, Sheffield (2009). 


He is represented by Anna Schwartz Gallery and is Associate Professor in Fine Art at Monash Art, Design and Architecture.

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

On display until

16 February 2031

ACMI: Gallery 1

Credits

artist

Daniel von Sturmer

Duration

00:23:43:00

Production places
Australia
Production dates
2020

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

Z000134

Subject category

Digital Art

Curatorial section

The Story of the Moving Image → Foyer → Entry → FSF-04. Daniel Von Sturmer

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Colour

Measurements

Sequences range in length from approximately 6 frames to 6 seconds. Overall DURATION approx 15mins per channel

Object Types

Artwork

Materials

Multi-channel installation, aluminium structure, LCD screens, HD video

Collected

11671 times

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/118031--cataract-concrete/ |title=CATARACT (concrete) |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=21 November 2024 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}