[dentifier] K2026-009

Flight cases, the boxes built to transport technical stage equipment, usually never make it out of the backstage area. In this series, however, artist duo Deborah Bowmann puts them in the spotlight. Lined with carpet and chrome detailing, and fitted with unexpected elements such as a clock, a ventilation grille and a lamp, the cases are transformed. Gone are the loose cables and the dilapidated, creaking speakers; in their place stands a polished sculpture that conjures something closer to a waiting room.
At the base of the sculpture sits a loudspeaker, playing a soundtrack that interacts with the spherical lamps above it. Software occasionally causes the sculpture to light up, lending it an almost animate presence. Through it, the artists explore how performance might unfold in unexpected contexts, as light, music, moving objects, video and dance break through the calm, static atmosphere typical of an exhibition space. Bowmann created the series for Atlas Export, a 2023 exhibition in Brussels on alternative networks, where the duo experimented extensively with activating their works through light and sound.