Complementary empathy
When first shown at Galeria Foksal in March 1997, the work was titled a, e, í, o, u. A series of vowels out of which no meaningful word could be formed, a vestigial alphabet and immediately denying the possibility of communication. lndicating at the sarne stroke the impotence and symbolic power of vestigial forms. A dialectics of the desired and undesired, of power and impotence, of gibberish and articulation. A virtual, effaced presence. More the memory ofbygone existence highlighting the flawed present, an intimation of deficiency testifYing to erstwhile plenitude. The symbolism and literalness of the titular vowels is reflected in the construction of the work, or of the entire exhibition, for the two are one. lt consists of nothing more than few elements which practically do not exist, but are implied just like vowels imply the existence of an alphabet. Denial abounds: we can neither enter nor even look inside, despite the purpose-made openings in the wall which give onto darkness-the denial oflight. All that really exists is sound-the continuous barking of dogs. Sound, however, can be neither seen nor touched; it exists in relation to other senses. Barking is a kind of articulation; the speech of the "other." Our understanding of this speech is limited and incomplete, barking is reduced to the simple message: "Here l am, l exist." ln this case barking is multiple like the calling of many uncoordinated voices. lt leaves much to imagination and inference, the weaving of intersecting narrative strands-reconstructed from memory, brought up by previously acquired knowledge. The gnawing sense of absence, unfulfillment and loss has for years been a trait of Miroslaw Balka's works. Another feature that comes out in this particular work is empathy. The selection of fragments to be revealed, the mutual relations between the vestiges made available to us, enable an interpretation tinged with emotion. Deficiency cries out for completion, yet the situation arranged by the artist has nothing temporary about it. First we are enticed by the need to learn its nature; intrigued by the mystery of the sealed-off space. The desire to enter it is however related to a hope for change, which never comes. Who is most affected by the oppressiveness ofthe situation? Has the trap been set for the viewer-participant, someone from the outside, or does it exist autonomously in a world beyond us and yet within us all; is it something universal, hence timeless and beyond the individual? The knowledge the artist invokes is intuitive, primordial. Using contemporary devices and hi-tech electronics, he arouses in us the sarne "fear and loathing" experienced in long-past, prehistoric times. Enclosure, darkness and lack of nonemotional communication transforms the process of reasoning into empathy. Empathy, science now teUs us, is more primary and reliable than articulated thought. We owe our survival to emotional intelligence. A well-developed amygdaloid nucleus, directly connected to the sense of smell, and predating the speech organs, was endowed with a database setting off an early warning system. a, e, í, o, U was enough. Vowels were so self-explanatory that they did not merit graphic representation in some languages. Consonants are the true instrument of articulation; a secondary form of communication-full of complexity, misunderstandings and lies. Anda Rottenberg a,e,i,o,u detalhe 1997 compensado, couro, linóleo, aço, som [plywood, leather, linoleum, steel, sound]
224 XXIV Bienal Representações Nacionais