You have never heard the wind blow.
The wind only tells about the wind.
What you heard it say was a lie,
And this lie is in you.
From: Fernando Pessoa, O mar só fala do mar

Inspired by this poem, Manfred Neuwirth presents Das Meer erzählt nur vom Meer, a three-channel media installation dedicated to one of mankind's oldest symbols of eternity. The film was shot on a beach in Arrifana, Portugal, and the spherical sound was created by sound artist Christian Fennesz. In three shots separated by short fades to black, the view of the sea and the beach is revealed, with occasional underwater images also being shown. The shots follow the course of the day and range from early in the morning to late in the evening. At first glance, they appear to be documentary images, and yet it is precisely the ambivalence between document and symbol that Neuwirth indirectly thematises. On the one hand, the sea itself forbids a clear demarcation between itself and its environment. Ebb and flow, seasons and moon phases influence the varying place where the sea ends. The movements of the waves sometimes take up more beach space, sometimes less. The sea is in permanent dialogue with other elements and is defined by the incessant change that it embodies. This is reflected in Neuwirth's pictures, which, apart from the ocean, also make the beach, the air and the light tangible and place people in relation to this scenery. People run and walk along the beach, meet in groups and enjoy being part of nature. Their movements are often seen in opposite directions in the left and right image projections, while the centre image shows "empty" nature. The ornamental effect that this creates refers to the symbolic interpretation that the sea has had in the course of cultural history. As a place of myths, a symbol of all life and the unconscious, it has provided and continues to provide mankind with an infinite projection and reflection surface for all those "lies" that Fernando Pessoa described in his poem.

Susanne Watzenboeck
Catalogue | Rendezvous with the Collection - Art from 1960 to today
Landesgalerie Niederösterreich