Metamorphosis
(Maastricht / Avenue Céramique 300)
Langan’s (1976 / Ireland) landscapes present multiple realities. Under the fluctuation of time, her breathtaking and seductive landscapes offer endless possibilities of reality. Her movies theme the passing of time and merging of reality and fiction, memory and history. Metamorphosis shows scenes with stormy, chaotic landscapes and snow-filled interiors. The ominous outside world enters the inner world of the home. The icy conditions provide continuous movement and transformations. A sense of panic and chaos surges, despite the beauty of these images. Nature reclaims her space and human civilization gets buried below. The same icy blue colour expands the surreal atmosphere in the movie, thus giving Metamorphosis a mystical ballast.
In contrast to Langan’s earlier work, which has always been recorded in existing environments and landscapes, Metamorphosis was recorded in a mix of manipulated ambiances. There is no clear line between reality and fiction. Metamorphosis has been made partly with sets and scale models. The camera leaves the viewer behind in a scaled-down world with a sense of cold confusion about what is real and what is not.