Exploring Places of Longing at Kunsthaus Baselland
What defines our personal idea of an extraordinary day, an untamed natural experience, or an elusive state of paradise? These questions stand at the heart of the exhibition Places of Longing (Sehnsuchtsorte), hosted at Kunsthaus Baselland. Bringing together carefully selected video works, the presentation investigates both individual and societal desires for ideal environments and asks whether such sanctuaries can truly be found within our everyday routines.
Video Installations and Real-Time Landscapes
The exhibition features prominent contributions from several artistic duos and creators, each approaching the theme through distinct visual mediums. Among them are Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler, whose interconnected video works Eight (2001) and Eighteen (2013) explore the fragile boundaries between childhood shelter and the wider world. Captured through continuous, fluid camera movements in Austin, Texas, the pieces follow the same protagonist across different stages of youth, reflecting on the transitions of growing up against shifting backdrops of weather and architecture.
Visitors navigating the galleries will also encounter Monica Studer and Christoph van den Berg’s digital installation Wiese (Meadow). Utilizing computer game technology, the piece generates a continuous, real-time animation of an Alpine meadow. While the simulated flora and fauna invite quiet contemplation, the inability to ever lift one's gaze to a horizon introduces a subtle sense of disorientation, bridging the gap between natural perception and digital illusion.
Further expanding on these themes, Max Philipp Schmid’s video work Paradies (2015) observes a protagonist inside a greenhouse, quietly questioning society's persistent urge to carve out controlled pockets of nature within harsh urban realities. Together with contributions by Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger, the curated selection offers visitors a thoughtful reflection on retreat, environment, and longing.
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