As museums and art galleries closed their doors due to the COVID-19 measures announced last week, many exhibitions had to shut down abruptly or else were postponed. One of these is the exhibition Light is Time Thinking About Itself by Antje Liemann, which had opened at MUŻA’s Community Space on March 5 and has now been rescheduled for summer.

Mnajdra, egg tempera on canvas, 160 x 180cm

As an artist, Liemann is concerned about the fragility of humankind and often questions both our existence and reality. Through her latest multi-disciplinary project, she explores the possibility of a future world dominated by nature rather than humans.

Liemann took the lockdowns and quarantine periods due to the current pandemic as the starting point for her artistic concept.

“What has been accepted as ‘normal life’ in a very short time would have been unimaginable just a few months ago. I used this feeling as a starting point for the project concept,” she explains.

“In this strange new environment, I think that, perhaps, the pendulum of the world is swinging back towards balance and nature has begun to invade parts of the world that have been taken over by humanity. Dolphins have been seen in Malta’s harbours. In other countries, wild animals began to explore abandoned cities,” she continues.

“So, the project is about landscapes without the presence of humans, imagining the end of our world as we recognise it. It visualises a world where humans have disappeared from the earth and nature takes the first advantage it has had in eons.

“I want us to feel both positively and negatively disturbed and to make immediate and repeated changes. Recognising the uncertainty of the human habitat should help us imagine a better tomorrow and a better life.”

The title of this project is derived from the poem La Vista, El Tacto (Sight, Touch) by Mexican poet Octavio Paz.

Installation view of Light is Time Thinking About Itself

I want us to learn from possible futures in order to change the present

The phrase is very ambiguous and can have many different interpretations. The German artist says that it is ultimately up to the imagination of the reader what shape the words should take.

Foundling, acrylic on mirror

“These lines spoke to me because I am dealing with questions of light, time and space in my artistic practice. I was fascinated by the poem. I am interested precisely in this space between what cannot be imagined and what can be felt,” Liemann points out.

“Light and time are special phenomena in physics but, in reality, they defy definition and explanation. Deep time refers to the concept of expansive time that extends far beyond human history, encompassing some 4.5 billion years of the earth’s geological history and the estimated 13.8 billion years of the universe’s history.

“If we look at our human existence from a planetary perspective, human life appears marginal compared to non-human forms. A deep time perspective draws attention not only to the vast spatial dimensions but also to the immense temporal dimensions.”

The exhibition, curated by Margerita Pulé, features large paintings on canvas, an installation of objets trouvés and a documentary film.

The installation contains symbolic objects such as mirrors, clocks, stones and globes of the world.

“Here, they have become archaeological traces that testify to the existence of mankind; in particular, the piece of Maltese limestone has a symbolic meaning,” Liemann notes.

“History is visible through fossils, shells and structures of coral reefs. Earth is a crustal planet (one of the few in our universe) but it is basically a rock. Limestone is visible throughout Malta, reminding us of the history of our planet’s formation. The stones symbolise the whole structure of the planetary system, the cosmos and life itself.”

Foundling, various materials

The documentary film consists of a series of conversations with a group of scientists, diverse and specialised individuals and an attempt to develop their vision of a possible post-COVID future through subsequent artworks.

Liemann would like  exhibition visitors to reflect on the world we live in and learn from possible future scenarios before it’s too late.

“The belief in human sovereignty has brought us − especially through its technological effects − to the brink of the collapse of our living conditions. From an evolutionary perspective, the end of human civilisation could be understood as a natural process. If, in the course of evolution, 99 per cent of the species that have ever existed have become extinct again, why should it be any different for our human species? We are dependent on nature but nature is not dependent on us. Nature will continue to exist and produce new species without us humans interfering,” Liemann says.

“As we become more aware of the harmful reach of the Anthropocene age, we can become more aware of ecocentrism, an alternative possible reality, and see humanity as no more important than other entities in the world.

“In the past, we have tried to learn from history for the future but the result has been a lack of imagination. I want us to learn from possible futures in order to change the present. As we become more aware of the harmful reach of the Anthropocene age, we can become more aware of the alternative possible realities that exist.”

Light is Time Thinking About Itself has been rescheduled to take place in August/September. Meanwhile, a 3D tour of the exhibition will soon be available on the website https://artzid.com. For more information and updates, visit the project’s website at https://lightistime.xyz/ and the artist’s and MUŻA’s Facebook pages.

The exhibition is supported by Arts Council Malta’s Project Support Grant and the Embassy of Germany in Malta. 

Artist Antje Liemann