artificial sweat, T-shirts, bucket, matchbox, matches, mirror, glass cabinet; 192 x 123 x 123 cm

„To be or not to be – that is the question posed by Monika Stricker (*1978). On the Moltkeplatz her work I Know It Is A Metaphor attracts the visitor with a content of presumably precious objects. Only on closer inspection does the banal content of the tall-as-a-man glass cabinet come to light: a burned match, T-shirts, and a bucket full of artificial sweat used elsewhere for testing purposes in the textile industry.

Do the exhibited items tell a story, or are they testimony of history? Whatever: Stricker plays the triangle of perception, illusion and reality. A metaphor does not stand for itself but rather refers to something else: in the same way the artist lends a shape to the world´s ambiguity. It is only by examining and pondering the glassy test setup on the lawn of the sculptures park that the visitor defines the possibilities. That includes the organic changes of this work of Rita McBride’s master student that occur with the seasons: in winter with frost flowers, in summer as a biotope.“
(Tankred Stachelhaus)

„Two-dimensional turns tangible and real.“
(Monika Stricker)

More about Monika Stricker´s work here.

This project is sponsored and supported by Kulturstiftung Essen, Ingenieurbüro Markus Kramer (Tragwerksplanung – FEM-Berechnungen) und Fa. von schaewen AG.