Sprache also Zarathustra

Where do ideas come from? And above all: how are they implemented and communicated? Jirka Pfahl investigates how objects and artworks emerge from thoughts, rules, or digital processes. He is particularly interested in the question of when something is truly new and autonomous, even if it is based on existing ideas, copies, or technical procedures.

In reference to Nietzsche’s philosophical novel “Also sprach Zarathustra”, his solo exhibition “Sprache also Zarathustra” foregrounds language and its play.

In doing so, he raises fundamental questions: What does language mean, and what role does it play? Is it merely a tool we use, or does it also shape our thinking and perception? At the same time, its complexity is addressed: as a means of expression and communication, as an archival system, as a script, a program, and so on.

For instance, in “Ba Ding Ba Ding Occurrency”, 22 interconnected works reminiscent of drawings bring together scribbles, symbols, and mathematically inspired signs into what appears to be a continuous sequence. The starting point was a beatbox session from 2011 at Kunstraum Michael Barthel: Jirka Pfahl and other participants experimented in a performance with vocal sounds as forms of expression, rhythm, and communication. This acoustic process was documented by real-time recorder Daniela Siebert. It was subsequently transcribed into classical shorthand by Christine Tahler.

In 2014, “Ba Ding Ba Ding Occurrency” was also performed at the Zentrum für Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe (ZKM). An edited recording of the performance is available online: https://zkm.de/de/media/videos/jirka-pfahl-ba-ding-ba-ding-occurency-2014

Language systems appear especially in the digital world and in mathematics in the form of programming languages, codes, algorithms, and formal systems. Jirka Pfahl explores the tension between coincidence and order, as well as questions of authorship: can an algorithm or script be considered the author of its results, or does authorship remain with the creator of the system?

Using permutations—the different arrangements of all elements of a set in a specific order—he, for instance, rearranged Smarties from Smartie packages in “Candy”. Each image shows all possible arrangements of a single package, which he recreated using pastel pencils. “The Smarties,” he says, “became an author to me.”

His folding works follow a similar logic: a self-developed digital script determines how he folds and cuts the paper. In "Permutation von sechs Spalten", this script is translated into a drawing. Alongside the process, the result also becomes visible: the manually folded and cut sheets of paper form a geometric structure reminiscent of a landscape of pyramids and diamond shapes. They cast shadows, engage with light and layers, and change their effect depending on the viewer’s perspective. In doing so, they play with foreground, middle ground, and background, allowing glimpses of what lies behind.

Overall, in his solo exhibition “Also sprach Zarathustra,” Jirka Pfahl creates an installation that opens up space for reflection and complements the complexity and depth of his works with subtle and affectionate humor.

The ODP Gallery warmly invites you to the opening on 12.06. at 7:00 p.m.


Graphic: Kay Bachmann
Text: Lena Kerschensteiner