Wolfgang Winter/Berthold Hörbelt

Swingerclub

2005

Werk - Swingerclub
Artist / Artist group
Wolfgang Winter/Berthold Hörbelt
Title
Swingerclub
Year
2005
Category
installation
Material / Technique
space installation ; galvanized grating, stainless steel tube, resin, lighting
Dimensions / Duration
Installation dimensions variable
Collection
ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe
Description

The participative installation »Swingerclub« (swinger club) by German artist duo Winter and Hörbelt is part of a series of swinging objects, which have already been exhibited internationally in various contexts, including in New York, Yokohama, and Miami.

The swings, which are constructed from steel grating and colored transparent resin, are suspended from the ceiling of the exhibition-room. Metal rods connect them with the architecture, and thus the specifics of the location’s environment is included in the installation. Anyone who wants to experience the physical and sensual experience of »Swingerclub«, however, has to interact with the installation. Upon entering the installation, an integrated light source lights up the seat of one of the swings. The moment someone sits on it, another swing in the room lights up, and invites more and more visitors to become part of the installation. Through the swinging of the seats, the various colors of the swings seem to fuse into a collective choreography of lights.

At the same time the installation’s provocative title – a reference to sex club establishments – plays with our ideas of morality and raises the question: What relationship do the visitors – inadvertently – enter into with one another as soon as they sit down on a swing?

Author: Julia Ihls