Charlotte Horn
Plus 20 to 30 Degrees,
2023
Oil on canvas
100 x 80 cm
Used to pleasant scents in the forest, something sweet and spoiled blends into the fragrances of dried leaves and resin. There‘s a steady hum filling the air, like a melodic breathing. A cloud of flies. The sense of where a dead animal’s corpse belongs has shifted. Natural causes or a miserable shot, how its life has come to an end, we don’t know. What we ascertain is that its removal is imminent, once discovered by hunters or foresters. Too big is the fear of diseases, as society has developed an excessive fragility towards visual and olfactory confrontation with death and decay. We are driven to venture beyond urban boundaries, yet in our quest, the forests are deprived of their vital nutrients as we remove what appear to be lifeless remains. A societal itch, a desire for complete sterility, where removing it all becomes the irresistible act of scratching.
Artist Statement/Bio
Charlotte Horn is a multidisciplinary artist based in Switzerland. She’s currently engaged in pursuing her MFA degree at the institute Art Gender Nature in Basel. Her practice revolves around performance, music and installation including oil painting, ceramic sculpture, sound and drawing. Her practice rooted in the foundation of abstraction, intertwines the nuances of closeness and distance, within this realm she’s questioning hierarchical structures and relationships between humans and animals, plants and other lifeforms. Repetitive cycles, intuitive exploration of her surroundings, the potential of growth and decay around nature and its transformative processes resonate within her practice. Her works have been shown in group shows at Atelier Mondial and Kunsthaus Baselland, she’s recently had performances at Basel Social Club and the Fondation Beyeler Museum amongst others.
