ICHS / I-s

Surrounded by bushes during the day and brightly lit at night, the four large yellow neon letters behind the foot path to the Museum Haus Esters spell the word ICHS. Being that the work is reminiscent of an advertising sign, the site seems unusual, but even the word itself doesn’t actually exist in the German language, causing the viewer to pause. As a “made up word” or “visual metaphor,” as Ludger Gerdes’s works are often described, it opens up different possibilities for interpretation. The ego (German: Ich, also defined as the pronoun I), as the individual consciousness between the id and the super ego, is made plural here. Its meaning is ambiguous. It could be that the individual doesn’t have one self-contained “I,” but instead a multifaceted personality structure that is too complex to be summarized in a single “I.” On the other hand, “Ichs” / “I-s” could also represent a variant of “we” – instead of a homogeneous group with a common will, it is a group of individuals who act together, but remain autonomous. Ludger Gerdes’s sculpture is concerned with the field of tension between individual and collective thought, which is also an important theme in public art in general.

Additional information: www.kultur-in-krefeld.de