Towerkill is a solo show by Hardy Hill, an artist and writer with a background in theology and philosophy of religion and a focus on printmaking. Connecting to the artist’s interest in questions of activeness, subjecthood, representation, and visual regimes, among other things, the exhibition consists of three main elements: The first is a selection of recent works on paper, using lithography in combination with ink, chalk, gouache, and pencil. While they are in line with Hill’s earlier works, often depicting imaginary figures within suggested spatial settings, they stand out due to their toned background and particular usage of light.
The second element is a new iteration of Rational Theater, an ongoing series of installation works composed of the following components: Lamps, smart-outlets, and the text of a play, which is transposed into a lighting sequence. The lights stand for the characters in the respective play and are activated in relation to their appearances on stage – boiling down the theatrical form to states of presence or absence and thus separating the “person” from it. The third element of Towerkill is an architectural intervention: A system of false walls are built within the exhibition space. The walls trace the superimposed floor plans of the artist’s apartment as well as his partner’s and thereby create a web of passageways.
