Where is the sky?: Elger Esser, Annabell Häfner, Goshka Macuga, Maximilian Rödel, Anri Sala, Florian Süssmayr, Thu-Van Tran, Chen Wei

The sky is a diffuse phenomenon. Where is the sky? Above our heads, reflected in water, behind a cloud of smoke, or only in our imagination? Hardly any other visual space eludes clear placement as much as the sky. Straddling the realms of a physical phenomenon, projection surface, and cultural imagination, the sky has served for centuries as a place of longing, transition, and orientation. Where does the sky begin, and where does it end?

From the Earth’s perspective, we call everything visible beyond the Earth “the sky.” To human perception, it appears blue when it is cloudless. However, the laws of physics tell us that this is due to the short-wavelength blue light components of air molecules, which are scattered more than the long-wavelength red components. The concept of “sky” also represents a space imbued with religious and mystical significance—a place of longing or a site of transition. The works in the group exhibition “Where is the sky?” illustrate the sky’s presence in our artistic exploration of our respective positions in various ways.