Arche / Ark

At the beginning of the Lichtpromenade, a raft made of tree trunks forms the platform for a greenhouse full of neon signs. Comparable to computer icons in their reduced and formal aesthetics, these pictograms are set to dim and brighten at different intervals and durations, creating new associations and networks of ideas.
Artist Christoph Hildebrand (born in 1959, lives in Essen and Berlin) took his inspiration for Ark from historic and present day Lippstadt: his signs juxtapose site-specific and international symbols, quite literally reflecting industry, crafts and agriculture, nature and culture, tradition and modernity.
This work has clear biblical associations and makes obvious reference to the lights and symbols we encounter daily in advertising and media; furthermore, the ark-style raft evokes memories of childhood, travel and island fantasies, and literary and cinematic references. The way that the signs seem to bloom and then vanish creates a new site of artificial nature amidst the old Lippstadt park grounds: an island that blossoms with light as a virtual vision of nature, place of longing, cinema, and memory space.
Text: Dirk Raulf (Kurator)

Additional Information: www.lippstadt.de/kultur/kultur/Lichtpromenade.php