Whiteout by Geert Goiris

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Presentation of the 11th Baloise Art Prize

For the eleventh time the Hamburger Kunsthalle receives an award-winning work of art as a donation from the Bâloise Group. The presentation of this work in Hamburg is a welcome occasion to dedicate an exhibition to the Belgian artist Geert Goiris (born 1971 in Bornem).

Whiteout, the new addition to the museum’s collection, is an arrangement of multiple slide projections that were shot in the Antarctic. It deals with the fascinating and dangerous weather phenomenon of the same name. Caused by the refraction of light in an air saturated with ice-crystals, a ‘whiteout’ makes all contrasts dissolve and leads to the disappearance of the horizon line. This experience can result in a complete loss of all sense of orientation.

The presentation is complemented by recent photographs by Goiris, taken during his journeys through desolate, scarcely populated regions. Goiris records surreal and melancholic situations, haunted by a subtly pervading, sinister mood. His works are characterised by a special empathy for the subject matter he deals with. They are composed in a clear and simple manner and are produced without digital manipulation.