Possibilities Of The Future – Realities From The Past
Archive
peter funch
possibilties of the future – realities from the past
lumières nordiques
jumièges abbey, normandy, france
24. March – 19. June. 2022
for the lumière nordiques festival, 2022, in normandy, peter funch presents a new project:
possibilties of the future – realities from the past which follows the footsteps of the atlantic
wall. The series consists of large format black & white photographs, shot inside bunkers
built along the european west coast. Juxtaposing the bunker as an embodied relic of war
and trauma, with the sea as a symbol of potential futures – light and dark, funch’s
photographic perspective crystallizes the haunting nature of our collective past(s). Today, as
we find ourselves in the era of the so called post-modern, after the end of history, these
images act as a reminder that we are yet subject to its paradoxical, unseen forces.
the atlantic wall is a comprehensive system of coastal fortresses built by nazi germany
between 1942 – 1944. Stretching all the way from northern norway, snaking its way south
along the belgian and french coast to the spanish border, it covers a total distance of 2,685
km, encompassing more than 1,500 structures, mainly built by slaves, prisoners of war and
non-german volunteers. Today, the remains of these structures stand as an architectural
reminder of one of the darkest periods in human history. As the views from these bunkers
are photographed in black/white, they seem to become timeless, universal, and meditative,
amplified by the repetitive nature of the series. The same observations of the horizon from
different countries are photographed at different times of the day and leads one to think of
hiroshi sugimoto’s seminal series seascapes, where the motif is depicted in both rich and
minimalist grey tones. Sugimoto says, ‘every time i view the sea, i feel a calming sense of
security, as if visiting my ancestral home, i embark on a voyage of seeing”.
by contrast, it is not a sense of security and stability that characterizes funch’s work, but his
images prompt a similar voyage of seeing and in a certain way folding what was with what is
and what could be on to one another. In each photograph, the silhouettes of the bunker
walls seem to cradle a great, watery, ambiguous horizon. Indeed, the architecture claims a
participatory role in the composition; the jagged and irregular edges, sloped and uneven,
directs the framing of the image, and determines the scope of the sky and the sea revealed
at the horizon. The result is an organic crystallization of the otherwise amorphous seascape.
the presence of the architecture breaks with the immediate calmness at the center of each
frame: there are cracks in the silence. The bunker inserts itself as a veiled border in the
almost-vacuum, disturbing the illusion of infinity where the sea meets the sky. Its presence
serves as a reminder of rupturing, splintering forces existing side by side in history, and in
the now: war, unhealed trauma and slumbering fear. Insofar as funch’s work evokes
historical trauma, embodied as abstract, it also places contemporary concerns within the
frame. The unbound sea implies the threat of climate change and ecological collapse,
whispering also of refugee crises, conflicts and nationalism. The sea represents the opposite:
the future, the universal, and the potential.
while we consider the bunker as both editor and frame, which contains the outstretched
panorama, we begin to consider how history is itself contained and framed. History is never
static, but here it seems caught in a moment of silence. The physical fractures mark the
structural deterioration of the bunkers, yet concealed historical fissures allow the past to
glide into the present. In the meantime, funch’s photographic perspective seems to remain
unchanged in a suspended or delayed moment, which connects different points in time in a
continuum. Here, the present offers an opportunity to meditate on the possibilities of the
future. Even as the fabric of history is again torn by war the calmness of funch’s images
seems to reassure us that it is possible to embark on another voyage. Beyond the horizon
anything may yet be possible.
text by laura ifversen, art consultant & master of arts, 2022
translation by astrid wang, m.A.
