Are aquariums merely artificial biotopes that we have designed for watching fish? Hammerstiel takes a close look at the variety of images that aquarium lovers can create with the help of various props. Blue is not only the colour of the sea it is also the romantic hue of distance and longing. The presence of ruins in 18th century landscapes paintings was intended to kindle fantasy. Are not the solitary plastic ruins in catalogues, floating on an expanse of blue, also fascinating images of yearning and melancholia? As in the group called “Yucca”, Hammerstiel draws on the formal tension between the single object and the series to create a tension reminiscent of minimalist installations.

Bernd Schulz, Saarbrücken 1998