On: Körper [Body/Bodies]

2022, Astrid Gallinat/art historian, Bologna

Körper [Body/Bodies] by Thyra Schmidt is an artwork in two pieces: framed silkscreen prints on handmade paper. Each work contains a German text by the artist. However, the person of the speaker remains unknown for the beholder. The letters are printed in a creamlike colour, thus there is only a minimal contrast to the paper. Therefore, they seem to be imbedded in the soft paper, which is rather a muted white than a brilliant white. This presentation reflects the intimate content of the texts. Moreover, the typeset (line breaks, blank lines and indent) slows the reading tempo down, since it predefines shorter and longer breaks.

Körper I starts with the exclamation “This music!” and then refers to the memory of another person’s smell, probably recalled by the music. This souvenir induces to perceive the other one’s excitement and transfer it to the speaker. Evidently, the other person is absent. Nonetheless, the by the music evoked remembrance is so strong that the feelings have a physical impact.

The first sentence of Körper II seems to reverse the absence for a moment, since the speaker seems to watch the other one. However, the next line about a hypothetical physical contact reveals the lack of real presence. Nevertheless, the idea of it still remains, but the image fades away. Hence, the two texts describe a development of alienation, caused by an enduring distance.

Since the intimate imagination of the other’s body could express his/her missing company and with that the privation of haptic sensation, the texts could speak about a temporal or permanent loss, caused by a journey, illness, separation or even death. This fits to Thyra’s general interest in human relations. In her works, she reflects on proximity and distance. Her mainly textual based oeuvre describes internal and external perceptions. These experiences changed during the pandemic. Therefore, Körper points to the lack of physical contact due to lockdowns and limited personal contacts. At the same time, it refers to the changed communication, which shifted to digital-based relations.

In this sense, Körper I might recount the feelings during a meeting via internet, where two persons listened to music together. Here the music stands for a shared sensory experience, despite the physical distance. Such a virtual encounter could even evoke physical reactions. Whereas in Körper II the emotional distance increases, regardless the visual contact. This alienation is provoked by the privation of corporal contact and the unsatisfactory medium of communication. “The picture flickers.”