With her large outdoor sculpture Terminal, the Polish artist Karolina Halatek invites us to make a special experience in the dark: When entering the large tube, viewers are completely immersed in the bright LED, which encloses them on all sides. Due to the total illumination, bodies do not cast shadows – a surreal situation, unfamiliar in everyday life. The artist was inspired by descriptions of near-death experiences in which light plays a fundamental role. Appropriately, she has chosen the title. The English term Terminal is a synonym for the last stop of a train or a bus. It is also used to describe the building where travellers wait for their next flight at the airport. Instead of imitating the depictions of the near-death experiences artistically, Halatek creates a new sensory experience which occurs between entering and exiting the tube. After having passed the tunnel, the viewer is released into the dark, urban surrounding. One’s own shadow becomes again visible in the light of the street lamps.
The sculpture is a temporary installation in front of the Kunsthalle Bremen within the jazzahead! Festival 2018. The partner country of this year’s jazzahead! Festival is Poland. The installation was made possible by the city of Gerlingen, the culture region Stuttgart, in cooperation with the Akademie Schloss Solitude (Stuttgart), the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the a-i-r Laboratory Ujazdowski Castle (Warsaw) and the Robert Bosch GmbH.