carlier | gebauer is pleased to present three projects: the German premiere of Emily Wardill‘s film, When You Fall Into a Trance; the group show I hear your voice reflected in a glass and it sounds like it is inside of me; and new work by Finnish artist Marianna Uutinen, opening 30 January 2015 from 6–9pm.

“Second Reversal: Sight touches and touch sees. Break the cycle even for a moment you fall. Sight walks or life ceases. He who doesn’t know how to walk puts one foot in front of the other; he who does puts an eye in front of each shoe.”  – Michel Serres, (Variations on the Body)

When You Fall Into a Trance tells the story of Dominique – a neuroscientist who both researches and manifests the belief that memories are stored in flesh. Her primary patient, Simon, is afflicted with a neural disorder that affects his understanding of the position of his limbs and the effort required to move them. He can no longer control ordered movement and is unable to activate his own body without looking at it. If you turn off the light in a room, he falls over. Simon‘s perceptual boundaries have shifted. Even simple acts like pouring a glass of water have become unachievable. Dominique helps Simon relearn how to move by retraining his mind. He must first imagine his gestures so that he can actualize them. When You Fall Into a Trance depicts Dominique‘s kaleidoscopic workaholism, estranged relationship with her daughter, and recourse to Internet dating as her work and personal life begin to meld. The film embodies the disl-ocation between intent and form, a romance of machines, and the mechanization of emotions.

In parallel, the gallery will present the group show titled, I hear your voice reflected in a glass and it sounds like it is inside of me, curated by Emily Wardill in conversation with Jesi Khadivi. The exhibition was conceived in relation to Wardill’s research for her film, which is based on the real-life story of Ian Waterman and his enigmatic proprioceptive disorder. Like the reflections of mercury puddles pooling upon a subwoofer, rippling to the vibrations of heavy breathing, each artwork has been selected to expand or further complicate the distressed and fluid elements at play in the film. Cartesian logic severs intellect from the body, privileging thought over sensation and argues that the self is essentially non-corporeal. Ian Waterman’s case posits an Escher-like paradox. Although he cannot move his body without looking at it, he can gesture through the aid of his imagination. Could this mean that we articulate self-awareness, neither as a Cartesian thinker, nor as a proprioceptive feeler, but potentially as an actor embodying inherited mythologies?

Featuring works by Özlem Altin, Peter Coffin, Tacita Dean, Richard Hughes, Manuela Leinhoß, Ann Lislegaard, Henrik Olesen, Lea Porsager, André Kertész, Tomasz Kowalski, Harry Sanderson, Markus Schinwald, Emily Wardill.