To what extent can architectural space act as a performer? This was the underlying question for building scale models of nonexistent spaces. The models, set in motion through computer-programmed mechanics, perform a slow choreography resonating with various common movements in architecture. Lüschen enhances the spatial – and theatrical – effect by the hypnotic play of light and shadow that accompanies the steady movements of the architectural elements. In this way Architectural Choreographies creates a place of stillness and contemplation. The series is presented as site-specific installation at various location such as a former jail, a metro station and an exhibition space which all added their own dimension and meaning to the work.
# 01 – The Other Rooms, 2018
Temporary site-specific installation
Bijlmerbajes jail, Amsterdam, NL
The Bijlmerbajes, a former jail, formed the backdrop for the first site-specific iteration #01 – The Other Rooms. Through security monitors and a large projection, visitors were given a framed and directed peek into those spaces, presumably being used in those tantalizing parts of the prison complex to which the public had no access. The displayed scenes, which in reality were scale models, depicted rigidly orchestrated mechanical objects, emphasizing the prison architecture as a machine of discipline, order and routine.
# 02 - The Other Rooms, 2018
Temporary site-specific installation
Metro station, Weesperplein, Amsterdam, NL
# 03 – Walls, Pillars, Floor, 2019
Temporary site-specific installation
Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, NL
The site-specific iteration #02 Walls, Pillars, Floor brings the architectural elements of Gallery 01, the main exhibition space at het Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, onto centre stage. In a slow choreography the architectural structures, replicated at scale, hover through an empty space without arriving at their designated location.
#04 – The Other Rooms, 2019
New Renaissance Film Festival
Close-up Cinema, London, UK