BENJAMIN BERGMANN
BLACK MOON, 2008

Helium gas canister, latex balloon
Courtesy of Galerie Zink, Munich/Berlin

DESCRIPTION

Benjamin Bergmann’s Black Moon is a sculptural and performative piece that incorporates a daily ritual. Each day, a black balloon is filled with helium, and placed into EMPAC’s elevator where it remains lodged against the ceiling until the evening when it is released into the night sky. Inverting the romantic motif of a brightly illuminated moon against a darkened night sky, Black Moon uses the symbol of the black balloon to express an existential freedom in nothingness.

BIOGRAPHY

Benjamin Bergmann was born in Wurzbug, Germany in 1968. He completed his Masters of Arts at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich, Germany. Bergmann has been exhibited internationally including the 4th Berlin Biennial, the 3rd Moscow Biennial, Museo de Arte Carillo Gil (Mexico City), and the Pinakothek der Moderne (Munich). Bergmann has permanent installations at the Friedrichstraße/Ecke Unter den Linden (Berlin) and Plantation Place (London). Since 2008 Bergmann has served as a visiting professor at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Nürnberg, Germany. Bergmann currently lives in Munich.

Image courtesy of Jens Ziehe