Niklas Goldbach (DE) | Rise

SYNOPSIS

The building in this work is the RCK ‘Twin’ tower, an unfinished building on Charoen Krung Road in Bangkok. The ‘ghost buildings’, as the Thai media call them, were abandoned during the 1997 Asian economic crisis. Many of them are left derelict until today. In his video and print works, the Berlin-based artist Niklas Goldbach addresses dystopic aspects of the human environment.
Using the film-set nature of urban architectural elements, he creates the ambiguity of reality that Foucault conjured up in his Other Spaces (Des espaces autres, 1967) - spaces which are waiting to be re-defined. Goldbach’s locations range from the concrete surfaces of contemporary architecture to the ruins of the abandoned pavilions of a world exhibition in addition paradisiacal landscapes. His works encapsulate a feeling of disorientation, highlighting subjective experiences of melancholy along with the politically charged tensions between public and private spheres.

ARTIST’S BIOGRAPHY

Niklas Goldbach was born 1973 in Witten, Germany. He studied photography at the University of Bielefeld and Experimental Media Arts at the University of the Arts Berlin where he graduated with honours in 2004. In 2005 he majored in the MFA program Integrated Media Arts at Hunter College, City University of New York and postgraduated with a Meisterschüler degree of the University of the Arts Berlin. Since 2001 his work has been exhibited throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. From November 2007 until June 2008 Niklas Goldbach is participant of the artist in residency programs of Palais de Tokyo, and Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris.

FILMOGRAPHY

• 2008_Dawn, 1'04'', loop, HD video, stereo
• Birds (left), 3'00'', loop, DV PAL, stereo
• 2007_ Intruders (series), loop, DV PAL, stereo:
  Rock, 1'00''
  Land, 1'10''
  Bay, 2'30''
• Haunt (series), loop, DV PAL, stereo:
  Nº.3, 36''
  Nº.2, 28''
  Nº.1, 35''
• Rise, 2'22'', DV PAL, stereo
• Gate, 24'28'', loop, DV painting, DVD PAL, stereo
• Routine, 19'15'', loop, DV painting, DVD PAL, stereo
• 2006_Hochhaus, 165'00'' (3 x 55'00''), video, DVD, PAL, stereo
• Swing, 2'55'' loop, DVD, PAL, stereo
• Seventeen, 1'43'' loop, DV PAL, stereo
• Der Apfel fällt nicht weit vom Stamm,13'' loop, DV PAL, stereo
• Civil Twilight (series), loop, DV PAL, stereo:
  The Shelter, 42''
  Condominium, 2'40''
  Ships, 2'00''
  Lot, 30''
  Night Shift, 17''
  House, 30''
  Playground, 1'02''
  Clouds, 37''
  Wings, 1'00''
• Forum, 3 x, DVD 7'00'' loop, PAL, silent
• Falls, 10'28'', video, DVD, PAL, stereo
• Gan Eden, 10'00'', video, DVD, PAL, stereo
• My Barrio, 19'14'', video, DVD, PAL, stereo
• 2005_Sensation, 18'00'', loop, DV PAL, silent
• Spring, 24'07'' loop, DV painting, DVD PAL stereo
• Jolos Castle, 32'32'', DV painting, DVD PAL, stereo
• Pool, 28'39'', DV painting, DVD PAL, stereo
• Grand Central, 2005, 19'03'' loop, DV painting, DVD PAL, stereo