Stop/Motion animation, 45 sec loop, no sound, 16:9 portrait format on LED Wall minimum 150 cm x 250 cm

Infinitely following the golden balloon with the camera Heike Baranowsky‘s 45 sec video Eppur si muove makes for great cinema. It is almost like the reversal of an extensive Ballhaus gyroscopic gesture, similar to his camera action during Solomon and Marta‘s meeting in the Roman palazzos‘s courtyard in Fassbinder‘s eponymous movie. In a dizzying motion the camera circles around Margit Carstensen and Karlheinz Böhm, who simultaneously revolve around each other. In Eppur si move – also made in Rome – the movements are crossing over; who or what is moving? The balloon, the artist or the studio? The video turns into a self-reflection on current working and living conditions. The way the artist observes herself in the mirror image of the balloon, orbiting around herself whilst filming in her Roman studio.

Exactly like her large projects developed over a long time, this small nimble and amusing piece gives access to the dimensions of time and space. The only difference is that this time the world has lost its center – the title‘s optimistic promise to confirm what Galileo had found out, does not match the images. There is no flawless heliocentric model of the world to be seen. The balloon nonetheless appears to represent the sun, gyrating an undefined center. Also confusing is the short solar eclipse complete with a gleaming corona. For a brief moment the balloon turns into the moon, positioned in front of the real sun. Nothing seems to be impossible in a universe wherein Baranowsky‘s sun outshines the true sun. (Susanne Prinz)

camera: Heike Baranowsky

post production: Volker Gläser

[1] Eppur si muove, Japanisches Palais Dresden, 2022; photo credit: HB; [2] Haus der Kunst München, 2021; photo credit: HB; [3] Accademia di Romania, Rome, 2021; photo credit: HB; [4] Villa Massimo Rome, 2020; photo credit: Alberto Novelli; [5] Sanatorium Dr. Barner, Braunlage, 2023; photo credit: Christian Konrad