A Fleeting Castle
Single cannel video. 3:41 min. 2015.
Is it
possible to make a castle disappear?
“Must the morning always return? Will the despotism of the earthly never cease? Unholy activity consumes the angel-visit of the Night.” Novalis, “Hymns to the Night.”
The romantics, including Novalis, reacted against the Enlightenment's emphasis on reason, they yearned for distant and unattainable things. Influenced by the Middle Ages ideas, they dug into their darkest feelings for inspiration. In this period ruins were often chosen as models for paintings; they were depicted in relation to landscapes and in this way showed the infinite power of nature over human constructions. William Turner travelled several times to Germany to paint Heidelbergs' Castle. Since this building was erected, in 1214, it suffered many destructions caused by wars, fires and two lighting-bolts.
Nowadays, the remains of this colossal construction are illuminated during the night; the spectacular image is best appreciated from the Old Bridge. At twelve o’clock the lights suddenly turn off automatically leaving the building located 80 meters up the Köningstuhl hillside, in complete darkness.
