Roni Horn's emblematic 1999 series Still Water (The River Thames, for Example) shows various snapshots of the river Thames. What is striking is that the colour and texture of this water surface vary greatly from one photo to the next: the colours range from black to blue and from dark green to khaki yellow. In each photo, the water's texture is affected differently by the tidal movement and play of light. Horn finds the same complexity in the photographs of the river as in a portrait.
Those who look closely will discover that small numbers seem to be floating on the water's surface. They refer to the footnotes printed at the bottom of the pictures. The footnotes force the viewer to study the photographs attentively and experience the power and dangers of water. Some footnotes include anecdotes related to the Thames, particularly cases of suicide. These observations are interspersed with references to films, lyrics and literary sources, including novels by Joseph Conrad, Charles Dickens and William Faulkner and the poetry of Emily Dickinson.
Still Water (The River Thames, for Example) is a work that literally invites us to look deeper into that what we see before us. The work dwells on 'water', a theme that recurs several times along the After Paradise route, Not just in the works themselves (see also: Vladimir Nikolic), but also in the landscape through which the exhibition meanders. The former Broel Museum – known today as BK6 – along one of the Leie's arms is the perfect setting for the presentation of Roni Horn's Still Water (The River Thames, for Example).
This space also shows work by Félix González-Torres (1957-1996). Félix González-Torres and Roni Horn got to know each other in the early 1990s. They developed a deep respect for each other's work and their friendship manifested itself, among other things, in the creation of works they dedicated to each other.
Still Water (The River Thames, for Example) from 1999 is a series of 15 photolithographs on paper. After Paradise shows six pieces from the full series (A, C, E and I, J and M).
