High Rising Grass Ozean Berlin 2010

In Ozean Schuurman shows, or rather installs, three of her works in large-format prints. Standing on the floor, they again form a real space for the viewer.

In "High", which like many of her works has a subtle sense of humour, the viewer looks at a picture of an observer peering through a hole in an oversized advertising image. The view of the gazer whose gaze remains hidden from us is an invitation by Schuurman that promises no resolution. We will only be able to imagine what is seen by the spy. The claim of mediation or communication of the enormous billboard is reduced to absurdity, because the interesting lies behind it, becomes invisible precisely through the monstrous visible.

"Rising" shows a motif that was created during Schuurman's stay in Beijing. An elderly man in a city park, completely at peace with himself, indulges in his meditation exercises.
He does not seem to notice the photographer at all, although she was very close in front of him during the shot. The branch of the tree he is holding onto seems to have grown for him, it serves him to stretch his body. His eyes are closed and he almost appears to be floating. The calmness of the moment, the closeness to the man who, however, cannot be more distant himself, the downright unity of the image, stand in contrast to the restlessness of the megacity surrounding him, even if it can only be vaguely interpreted.

In "Grass", a large piece of artificial grass mounted on wooden pallets is placed directly in front of a "real" lawn. The artificiality of both cultural products does not save them from being battered. Here, too, neither the context of use nor the local context of the situation is apparent. Again, the impression is stage-like, opening up space for speculation, the truth of which is as high as its possibility.

Karola Matschke, 2010