스킵네비게이션

The work of Peter WÄCHTLER explores the phenomena of non-progress. Through a practice that often features outdated materials—deskilled bronzes of buildings and figures, unglazed ceramics that recall terracotta reliefs, and twentieth-century cartoons—the artist inverts expectations of fictional histories. In his film Far Out (2016), a cartoon figure adorned in a green waistcoat and top hat exaggeratedly traverses across a gothic country landscape, ensconced by multiple moonlit scenes. The full moon marks the path that leads toward a mountainside castle, obscured by a passing cloud of bats. As in most scenes using traditional cel animation in cinema, the hand painted backdrop is more realistically rendered—the stark yet typical differences in style, from sleek and clear outlines of the protagonists to the more gestural rendering of the static setting, create a disjointed sense of time. The soundtrack—an upbeat rock n’ roll song composed by Danish jazz musician Esben TJALVE, paired with lyrics by the artist, captioned across the moving image—is jarring and incongruous. WÄCHTLER’s adoption of this convention is similarly a matter of economy; the one with more attention remains static, while the simpler representation is dynamic and constantly on the move.