carsten höller: > synchro system < .... in a few years he has become one of europe's most noted and influential young artists ....................................
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carsten höller - synchro system - fondazione prada, milan 22 november 2000 - 7 january 2001 http://www.fondazioneprada.org		+ see more works by carsten höller +
the exhibition project conceived for the fondazione prada is divided into various stations, it is a circuit, where visitors encounter works capable of inducing hallucinations, an experimental path that each spectator is asked to follow in order to undergo the effects, which become more intense as the visitor proceed. the designboom team went through the show several times, on different days, and each time enjoyed it very much. here is a brief description of what happened to us. it starts with an architectural model of a hypothetical house, in form of a staircase, 'maison ronquières: the laboratory of doubt'. carsten höller, in an interview with the famous art critic germano celant, says: 'letting yourself go down the slide is an experience that is similar to hallucination because, when you get on it knowing precisely what's going to happen from the entrance to the exit, this is an experience that makes you happy'.		'maison ronquières: the laboratory of doubt', 2000 © carsten höller courtesy fondazione prada 'light wall', 2000 © carsten höller courtesy fondazione prada 'gantenbein corridor', 2000 m 2,2x4x9,4 © carsten höller courtesy fondazione prada
the next stop is in the >synchro system< is 'light wall' and the 'gantenbein corridor', dialectic between light and darkness. in 'light wall' lights are turned on and off continously, the hallucinatory aspect turn out because it entails the synchronization of the brain's activity with the flashing of the light. the bodily involvement is impossible to avoid when you are in this room. when your eyes are shut the visual phenomena remains on the retina. then you pass completely 'blind' the dark 9 meter long 'gantenbein corridor' and atthe end of it you enter in a room full of light, a place of wonders and at the same time a disneyesque room of monsters: the 'upside down mushroom room'. when you see the world upside down, you're seeing the 'real' world. (the image on the retina is upside down before the brain deals with it).	detail of 'light wall', 2000 © carsten höller courtesy fondazione prada
	'upside down mushroom room', 2000 preparatory sketch courtesy fondazione prada	'fliegenpilz' (amanita muscaria) © carsten höller courtesy the artist
	'upside down mushroom room', 2000 © carsten höller courtesy fondazione prada
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