jeppe hein
 
360° Illusion I - 2007

stainless steel, substructure, mirror, motor
100 x 175 x 150 cm Ø 175 cm / 39 1/4 x 69 x 59 in Ø 69 in

Exhibition view: Dan Graham / Jeppe Hein: From Seriousness to Silliness, Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich, 2008.

Two mirrors are connected at their edges in a 90° angle to each other. Initially, the installation mirrors everything around it and thus dissolves into the surrounding. At first glance the visitor sees himself in the reflection as a normal inverted mirror image. The double reflection, produced by the two connected mirrors, causes the effect that the image is fixed and starts to rotate, when the mirror-installation is rotating. Thereby the reflection of the visitor's image as well as the surrounding turned upside down. 360° Illusion directly subverts and displaces our experience and perception of our surroundings and ourselves. To a greater extent it addresses the physical and psychological experience of the visitor. The installation makes us reflect on our own presence by experiencing a displacement of the space and our position within it. The visitor becomes aware of the limitations as well as the possibilities inherent in the act of looking.