Using photography, video and text elements, Sean Snyder's (*1972) installations explore aspects of urban space and architecture as signs of economic and political structures as well as media and cultural domination. Through various modes of representation, whether producing material, reprocessing existing material or archival research, his work traces the visual codes that effect the built environment. Snyder's research picks up where other sources of information leave off, engaging the viewer in an interconnected narrative of seemly fictional facts and coincidences. The artist's works make it possible for the viewer to interpret specific facts and news as a part of a global history of aesthetic culture.
The project Analepsis 2003-2004 makes use of re-establishing shots and sequence shots originally from satellite news footage. These were employed in television news stories to re-orient viewers to the geographic location of the clips. Snyder's focus is a new interpretation of the perception of urban space through media. He subjects the presentation of television reports to a structural analysis, thereby revealing the inherently cinematic quality of "news".A second piece is in line with the artist's previous works dealing with the regulation of space, such as a failed expatriate community for employees of multinational companies in Shanghai previously shown at DeAppel. In Snyder’s ongoing project Temporary Occupation, 2003-2004, he investigates spaces utilized and influenced by the US military abroad: areas formerly occupied, the surroundings of present bases and prospective locations for new bases. The project analyses aspects such as local economic and cultural impact, spaces of consumption, and the post-usage situation of former bases, including locations in Japan, Bulgaria and Germany. Oscillating between feature film and surveillance camera, the documentary images are strangely captivating and attractive.
The exhibition is organised in cooperation with De Appel in Amsterdam, Portikus in Frankfurt am Main and the Secession in Vienna.