Sharing a Beautiful Sunset
(Maastricht / Gubbelstraat 10)
In the one-minute photo animation Jasper Elings (1975, The Netherlands) makes the sun set into the ocean by means of more than one hundred cliché images of a setting sun that are stocked on Google Image. Time and location vary but are kept in line by the horizon that serves as a constant. In each image the sun sets from the exact same position until it meets the line that divides air and ocean and disappears behind the horizon with a hiss. A prefect registration of the kitschy sunset views that are shared by many. Elings’ editing of these banal snapshots at high speed works perfectly and he is holding up a beautiful mirror to our faces, reflecting universal sentiments. This newly constructed landscape made of archive images gives a whole new meaning to the concepts of expressivity and uniqueness. In virtual reality it is possible to be present at many places on the globe and beyond at once, which has changed Elings’ and our view of the landscape. Jasper Elings belongs to the younger generation of Internet artists who experiment with new techniques whilst exploring global platforms.