Susanne Wiegner studied architecture at the Academy of fine Arts in Munich and at Pratt Institute in New York City. She works as an architect and 3D-artist in Munich, Germany. In addition to projects in real space, for several years she has been creating 3D computer animations dealing with literature and with virtual space.
Venues where her work have been shown include the Pinakothek der Moderne and the Literaturhaus in Munich, the Jenisch Haus in Hamburg, the Kunsthalle Kempten, the Paraflows Festival in Vienna, the EMERGEANDSEE Festival in Berlin, "Les Instants Vidéo" in Marseille, the International Film Festival in Rotterdam and the Art + Technology Center EYEBEAM in New York City.
http://www.susannewiegner.de
Expeditio by Susanne Wiegner, 3D animation, 2008
As the last remaining undiscovered regions are located in the mind, a creature-shaped spaceship travels into virtual space. The vehicle is the hero of the story, characterized by a nimbus of superiority. It is able to swim, fly, dive, undock the capsule, change its size etc. Above all, the spaceship is equipped with all imaginable appliances for obser-
vation as various special cameras, microphones, sensors, x-ray units etc. By these means it is not only able to perceive but also to analyze and archive its perception.
Imagined and subjective, and hence virtual, spaces are thereby turned into objective and real spaces since they can be described and presented in a language which is similar to scientific documentation
It's an ironic play on contemporary creation and representation of pseudo-realities in digital imagery. Common methods of demons-
trating and thereby "verifying" these "realities" are exaggerated into the realm of the fantastic.
The adventures take place in acting and altering spaces, all principles of statics and logics are suspended. Reacting to each particular situation, the spaceship collects data, analyzes, annotates and reflects them in the further course of the flight. The language used is as well scientific as poetic, like the former reports of expeditions. The end is very surprising and gives two short hints that the film is a reminiscence to Jules Verne and Adalbert Stifter .
