'The End of Reality', Schrodinger's cat - Tania Theodorou
Tot Zover
The ambiguity of the end
Greek artist Tania Theodorou examines the ambiguous meaning of the term "the end". She creates bizarre scenes that create a sense of doubt, the end turns out to be less straightforward than we thought.
Contemplations on the Ambiguous Nature of the End
From 12th June 2009, Nederlands Uitvaart Museum Tot Zover presented a series of installations by the Greek artist Tania Theodorou. She examines the ambiguous meaning of the term "the end". Theodorou creates bizarre scenes that create a sense of doubt. The end turns out to be less clear than we thought…
The End of Reality
In the installation "The End of Reality", Theodorou combines a series of images and objects related to Schrödinger's cat, a scientific thought experiment that investigates the properties of atomic particles. Physicist Erwin Schrödinger stated that under certain circumstances a cat can be alive and dead at the same time. The cat is a metaphor for the atomic world and at the same time gives the experiment a human framework. Theodorou shows a collection of strange images of Schrödinger's cat. She also combines the images with natural history objects, including cat mummies. The installation illustrates our limited comprehension about the end.
In a numbered and limited edition, the museum published a book by the artist about Schrödinger's cat.
The End of the Road
In the diorama "The End of the Road" a row of trees disappears in the distance. The road seems endless. This work is a three-dimensional reconstruction of an existing photo. The human material the scene is made of, hair and ashes, reflects the mournful landscapes of nineteenth-century hair paintings. These landscapes - seen elsewhere in the museum - express melancholy memories of loved ones who have died.
Popular visual culture and scientific theories are important sources for Theodorou. She provides new meanings for existing questions and questions the significance of certain objects, the latter is visible in her fascination for word meanings. In the exhibition the concept of "the end" is completely unraveled. The term refers to the ambiguity of words, but also to our pre-programmed views of the end.
Theodorou's investigative way of working is the reason for making collections of funeralia and natural history objects from Museum Tot Zover and private collectors available to the artist. Existing objects are given a new context.
About the artist
Tania Theodorou studied English literature in Athens. She then moved to Amsterdam and graduated from the Rietveld Academy in 2005. In 2006 and 2007, Theodorou participated in group exhibitions in W139, Mediamatic and Hotel Y Boulevard. In 2007 she received a starting stipend from the BKVB Fund.
The exhibition was opened by the South African artist James Beckett. Beckett, the 2003 Prix de Rome winner, gained international fame with his sound installations and in the field of photography.