Wonderful carved figures
While some artists use readily available materials, German artist Christian Kosmas Mayer does not. The hardwood he would later employ in his statues wasn’t discovered for many years. After Berlin’s Palast der Republik, a monument honouring the German Constitutional Democracy that existed from 1949 to 1990, was demolished in 2012, pine needles were found inside. The wood was bought by Mayer at an auction. He was aware of the historical importance of the timbers he had recently purchased, which had sustained the Prussian Berlin Palace from 1443 until 1918 for thousands of years. Mayer created the trunks into creatures that arise from the unfinished wood with this in mind. It appears as though the designer uncovered these characters with his carving. In a sense, he has.
The sculpted figures represent historical facts. They were inspired by photographs of the atlas characters that previously adorned the stairs of the Prussian Berlin Palace for their design and attitudes. Mayer’s reenactments feature a rustic look and are scaled down from the original versions. The act of reconstruction is his means of “memorialising an obliterated and vanishing past” to be resurrected in a new way—all the while keeping linkages to what was from a long time ago—even though it is not precisely the same.
In the show Mi, co-artist Andreas Fogarasi and Mayer both have pieces on display. Until November 6, 2020, it will be on display at Vintage Galéria in Budapest, Hungary.
Hardwood statues were made by German artist Christian Kosmas Mayer using Prussian Berlin Castle timbers.
Their stances and fashion are based on photographs of the atlas characters that previously adorned the castle’s stairs.
In the show Mi, co-artist Andreas Fogarasi and Mayer both have pieces on display.
