Metamorphic Rock

What is a metamorphic rock? The transformation of the mineralogical composition of a rock through a change in temperature and pressure is called metamorphism. The parent material is turned into a so-called metamorphic rock.

Metamorphic Rock shows the walls of a lobby in an office building. The shots rotate left and right on a split screen, turning 360 degrees in opposite directions. The white, grained marble of the wall surfaces alternates with the matte reflection of a white leather chair on the floor. The different perspectives as well as the surface structures of the walls and objects that have been set in motion create a striking image: they show the materiality with its bizarre forms in practically human poses. As the only person in the video, the doorman meanders around in the entryway of these decadent surroundings, whiling away the time. He seems to melt into the interior décor, becoming one of the furnishings.

In his video, Jan Adriaans does not pinpoint a particular place, but allows the camera, with a view to the materiality of one generic building, to circle symbolically around the whole world. In the process, the rotating halves of the images do not simply document the walls, but instead animate the rock in a media metamorphosis. (Maike Volkhard)

*We can only show an excerpt of this work in the online archive. For the complete version, please contact the artist.