Irene Sauter (DE), Fragment 927
Fragment 927, 2023
Paper, aluminium, acrylic glass, MDF
206 x 191 x 74.25 cm
Recent findings in quantum physics have led to the hypothesis that the universe can be understood as a holographic structure: in simple terms, like a hologram, where all information is inscribed in its entirety on a two-dimensional surface. According to this hypothesis, just as every single fragment of the whole contains the whole, each fragment also simultaneously forms part of a larger entity. Applied to Irene Sauter’s minimalist work, this line of thought implies that, even if only a relatively small portion of countless sheets of patent files were processed to create Fragment 927, this one large sheet nevertheless upholds and preserves the spirit of the entire documented universe of past inventorship.
An oversized sheet of paper rests on a wooden platform. At one end, it is held by an aluminium clamp, which defines the trajectory of the sheet above the platform. A transparent case simultaneously protects and isolates the sheet of paper, and the whole installation conveys a state of calm and silence. The viewer has no access to the paper, such that any urge to touch the sheet remains unsatisfied, adding to the artwork’s contemplative character.
The installation is the most site-specific work in the exhibition as it consists of sheets of paper from over 900 of the old patent files that were once stored, along with millions of others, in the room where you now find yourself. A specialised paper-making process was used to refine this paper into the encased fragment that lies before you. This transformation process is embodied by the number 927 in the title. The number represents the estimated number of sheets needed to produce the artwork, which is at once a loving farewell to the analogue era and an elegant homage to the waves of invention throughout time.
Irene Sauter lives and works in Berlin. She studied painting at the city’s Academy of Fine Arts and was artist-in-residence at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam. She has exhibited at documenta 11 (Kassel), (trans)Africa SMAK (Gent), Kunsthal Gent and Künstlerhaus Bethanien. A major recent milestone in Sauter’s career was the commissioning of the artwork Fragment 927 as part of the European Patent Office’s paper transformation project, realised on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the European Patent Convention in 2023.