Proteopoesie, oder:
in kleinsten Wellen
The exhibition "Proteopoesie, oder: In kleinsten Wellen" (Engl. Proteopoetry, or: In smallest waves) combines transmedia installation, poetry, and bio-nanotechnology. It is based on the poem "Fühlen nach Licht" (Engl. Feeling for light, 2024) by Pai Litzenberger, which was written exclusively using letters that represent amino acids. It reflects the sensual isolation of a DNA origami ghost, the Ghostly Collector, who longs to perceive his surroundings. The poem serves as a code for a fictional De-Novo-protein designed to enable the ghost to perceive light.
In the exhibition, this protein is magnified 4.000.000 times and takes shape in sculptures and prints. The sculptural model "Higher-Order Structure: Unit Cell 1 1 1" (2025) and the print "FNL-12" (2026) explore the moment when four proteins come together to form a unit cell and create a crystal. In scientific research, the crystallization of proteins is an essential step in determining their shape and structure. Only in their crystalline form do proteins become visible to the naked eye—and in some cases, even without a microscope.
In the video projection, Ghostly Collector imagines interacting with the proteins. The shadow play "Surrounded by thoughts, molecular simulation" (2026) alludes to the anthropomorphization of biomolecules. How does our understanding of the microscopic, invisible realm change when we ourselves can create its actors, the individual molecules, from scratch?
While Ghostly Collector imagines that it can perceive smallest light waves in the microscopic sphere with the help of its own proteins, we humans, in the macroscopic sphere, can only see the various light waves visible to us under very specific conditions. "Wo uns Regenbögen begegnen" (Engl.: Where We Encounter Rainbows, 2026) is a collection of photographs of rainbows taken between 1996 and 2026. The physical interplay of sunlight and raindrops forms an arc across the sky only when we look at the rain at just the right moment and from the right angle. This familiar perspective, however, is subverted in the photograph (Untitled, 2013). Here, the rainbow appears unusually close.
The artworks were showcased at Matjö Raum für Kunst, Cologne in 2026.
Click here to watch "Surrounded by thoughts, molecular simulation" excerpt on Vimeo