Black Brane by Tomas Eller :: December 14, 2007 - February 16, 2008 :: Opening: December 13, 2007; 7 p.m. :: Kunstverein Medienturm, Josefigasse 1, A-8020 Graz.

“Tomas Eller’s video works question the precarious relation of “nature” or “naturalness” and “technology” by analysing, surveying and using as a stage the Alpine mountainscape by means of complex, technical procedures. For most of his experimental studies, Eller brings in heavy equipment: conforming to exact terms of reference, motorcyles race along Alpine roads with wild pursuits (Stabilize my Horizon, 2001/02), snow groomers leave their surprisingly graceful traces across a winterly plateau (Electricnight, 2002), Jet Skis rush on a lake and let wave crests dance (Buoy, 2003) or an off-road vehicle drives on a wintry mountain pass road, while scanning the nocturnal setting with a spotlight (Landrover, 2001). Eller pointedly uses motorised technology, in order to make ephemeral inscription in an – usually untouched – nature. Through his texturing procedure, clearly defined, imaginary places appear, which are concentrated to complex images through their variant-rich staging.

The individual, technical artefacts develop their potential of activity in line with parameters such as speed, centrifugal force, gravitation or friction, which Eller skilfully employs on his conceptualized scenarios. Through the partly forceful movements of the objects which stand out due to their specific forms of locomotion, these artefacts gain momentum to a peculiar degree, which adheres partly something uncontrollable or hardly controllable. Just through their mere size and their specific technical alignment, the artefacts seem to assume control to a certain degree – the engines howl, however, being unable to break out of the system that is intended for them. Ultimately, Jet Ski, Landrover, snow groomer and helicopter remain under the direction of Eller, just because they are steered by professional drivers according to strict guidelines of the artist.

The stagings which appear as light-footed are controlled by a concise dramaturgy, which seems to establish from not closer defined strings of state descriptions. Tomas Eller employs selfdeveloped, but, by no means, arbitrary systems and codes, which describe the relation of movements of distinct, technical artefacts within a present, natural environment.

Contrary to the mostly and seemingly quite vehement movements of the numerous, dynamic objects, the charged scenarios appear to underlie surprisingly static state descriptions, which do not dissolve through isolated actions, but continuously rearrange, within a defined frame, to an “image”. The movements and formal characteristics of the singular objects are analysed with reference to their common patterns and are summarized to a synthetic scenario, in order to be marked as imaging blueprint, analogous to an analytical image perception. Comparable to a “tableau vivant”, the artist establishes dynamic snapshots from moving objects, which seem to follow an inherent mode of movement, in order to set limits to these at the same time. Consequently, Eller uses a static camera angle, which provides a clear framework for the multilayered happenings. With the help of this specific camera work, he accounts for a defined, although imaginary (since exchangeable) place, which stands out as “image” in the middle of the selected untouched natural space. According to which patterns – Tomas Eller calls them codes – however, do
these dynamical, clearly defined pictorial concepts establish? Wolfgang Coy describes codes or processes of the codification as “picturing a finite quantity of signs of an alphabet as apt signal sequence”1, hence a timely graded transmitting of signals within an existing order. Following on signals, codes are thus a telecommunicational phenomenon, which underlies every transmitting medium. In order to arrive at a comprehensible codification of these signals, a readable sign system like an alphabet is necessary.
In the fashion of cryptology, Eller conceives and encodes a self-designed, thus, in a sense, “rigid”, selfreferential sign system, which makes it possible to develop a translation of his concept to an organised, pictorial presentation. Eller blueprints dynamic signal sequences, which he fits in a “natural language”, that is the establishing of a finite quantity of signs to an image. This image is distinctly structured and precisely outlined with reference to its composition, it regularly rearranges to recurring – partly differing – patterns. Due to their pattern-like, repetitive movements, the artefacts give birth to a figurative, ornamental image language, which finally reveals an “image” of the artistic concept.

Even if the objects occasionally totally leave the presented imaging frame, the concept still works, rather a new signal sequence outside the visible section seems to establish, in order to return afterwards to the shown focus. Corresponding to a previously defined agreement, an “encountered order” seems to be present within the visible section.

Even if temporarily only the supposedly still and static nature shall appear, the image itself is never “empty”, since the subtle, Alpine landscape is the encountered image carrier, which, with its conditions and indentations, underlies the concept of the image. Nature is thus the supporting medium for the artistic artefacts, of which the inscriptions let evolve an image body, a “gestalt”. In spite of all efforts, directed towards a stringent concept, the image ultimately unfolds within the observer himself, since physical thus real outside images and mental inside images of memory are assembled to one picture2. In this respect, Tomas Eller’s works also approach notions like “technology” and “naturalness”, which traditionally tend to be depicted as antipodes, but here, due to their alleged oppositeness, become visible as culturally defined concepts, their meanings being subject to a gradual change. Also these “images” remain in motion.” - Sandro Droschl

1 Wolfgang Coy, Aufbau und Arbeitsweise von Rechenanlagen,
Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn Verlag, Braunschweig – Wiesbaden 1992, p. 5.
2 Hans Belting, Bild-Anthropologie, Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munich 2001, p. 20 (et seq.).