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BIO
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AN ACCLAIMED MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST WITH MORE THAN THREE DECADES OF EXPERIENCE IN MEDIA ARTS, HERMAN KOLGEN LIVES AND WORKS IN MONTREAL. AN AUDIOCINETIC SCULPTOR, HE DRAWS HIS RAW MATERIAL FROM THE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOUND AND IMAGE. KOLGEN CREATES PIECES THAT TAKE ON THE FORM OF INSTALLATIONS, VIDEO AND FILM WORKS, PERFORMANCES AND SOUND SCULPTURES. HE WORKS IN A CONSTANT CYCLE OF EXPLORATION, AT THE CROSSROADS OF DIFFERENT MEDIA, TO CONJURE UP A NEW TECHNICAL LANGUAGE AND A SINGULAR AESTHETIC. THE IMPACT OF TERRITORIES ON HUMAN LIFE LIES AT THE HEART OF HIS CONCEPTUAL PURSUITS. THE RESULTING BRUTAL TENSIONS AS WELL AS THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN VARIOUS ELEMENTS CONSTITUTE THE EPICENTRE OF HIS PRACTICE. HIS MULTIFACETED WORK IS CHARACTERIZED BY A RADIOGRAPHIC APPROACH. IT’S THIS X-RAY EFFECT, WITH ITS IMMATERIAL QUALITY, THAT ALLOWS THE INVISIBLE TO BE SEEN.
Using the human camera of our iris, traces of light are transmitted to our brain, where they are potentially encoded in our memory. We are dependent upon light to interpret fragments of our world at every moment — how many images has our visual perception registered, processed and compiled throughout our lives?
What remains of these diffracted moments and ephemeral flashes that result from the constant bombing of photons and optical frequencies? Are they blurred memories or clear ones? Do they create a retinal amnesia or a permanent imprint?
Through this biological filter of sight, I am exploring the coexistence of the human and its intermediate territories — a double relationship that interrogates what is real, intimate, and exterior — in all of its fragility, permeability, and indeterminacy.