Protective gods and deities from different cultures, intuitions from other worlds.

Installed within the beautiful surroundings of Reventlow Museum during the annual Land Art exhibition IN SITU.LOLLAND, this year under the title HUN, until the beginning of October.

A vagina in the shape of a penis. The labia erect. The testicles formed of two snail shells. Looking like breasts. The labia arising out of them. Rearing up. Shaping something ship-like or a rocket. Fragmented, distorted, yet powerful. Thereby becoming a monument to the power and strength of the genitals – the female genitals.

The vagina is every mammal’s natural gateway into this world. Nevertheless, the connotations and strangely even the names and designations of the female gender are very often used in demeaning ways or even as a swear word. We need a paradigm shift. PUSSY POWER shall draw attention to this — inspired by the book Pussy: a reclamation by Regena Thomashauer (2016, Hay House, New York).

“A book written to reacquaint a woman with her own power source — which is the part of herself she has been taught to ignore, push down, and despise. Indeed, the word that most viscerally sums up that power is, as Regena puts it, arguably the most powerful pejorative word in the English language. Like any expletive used effectively, the title of this book is meant to be a wake-up call.” (quote) These thoughts have led to the sculpture’s title PUSSY POWER.

Simultaneously the rigidly conditioned binary of the two-sided gender system is deliberately called into question here. It simply falls too short. Every human being is composed out of both sexes. They form the two poles between which every human being needs to find a peaceful position. Harmony can only result from a healthy balance.

Over a period of five years Fabian Vogler has developed the book The Beauty of Sexes | Intersex in Dialogue together with psychologist Prof. Dr. Katinka Schweizer, published in 2018. 30 experts, scientists and researchers from various scientific perspectives took part. They entered into a dialogue with 70 of Fabian Vogler’s sculptures that were made at that time on the subject of “undefined gender”, partly also in cooperation with other artists.

Now for IN SITU LOLLAND with the topic of HUN he has created a “female dick” … PUSSY POWER. May it be seen and understood as a wonderful and loving symbol of empowerment.

It confronts us with different facets of human existence, awakens associations with African, Asian, oceanic or even Aztec sculptures, although they clearly are not. The surfaces have been worked through to the last detail and yet they seem as if they came directly from fire or remind us of excavated prehistoric finds. Condensed conglomerates of forms that encourage us to think and depict the human body more freely – strictly defined in their form, they form fantasy spaces, Phanasieräume, that leave room for the free, subjective connoting of the viewer.  HUBERTUS HOFFSCHILD, LÜBECK, GERMANY

But more disconcerting than the torsos, which we have encountered many times throughout art history, is the fact that we cannot make out whether the bodies represented here are female or male figures. Physical and social signifiers of sex are abundant (vaginas and penises, broad hips and tulle skirts, for instance), but in their combinations they only foil our expectations. The PRINCE_SSES’ external markers create confusion; Vogler juxtaposes female body shapes with male sexual organs in one figure, making it difficult for us to ascribe them a clear identity.

Like many other series of works by Fabian Vogler, his PRINCE_SSES confront us with sexuality in all its shimmering truthfulness and diversity. Vogler is one of the few contemporary artists to reflect on the elemental aspects of sexuality and use that perspective to explore human identity. Here, Kunstwollen hones in on sex and gender, and in his works, Vogler negotiates these terms in their most comprehensive sense, as referring to a social role (gender) and a person’s physical constitution (sex). Through his art, Vogler forges a connection with the great female artist of sexual identity: Meret Oppenheim, whose aesthetic metaphysics offers up a response to two major questions: How do we overcome socially constructed gender differences? and: What defines human creativity? I would like to draw on Oppenheim at this point, as her perspective opens up an ideal avenue for us to approach Vogler’s work. DR. CHRISTIAN WALDA

It is supposed to be the portrayal of the “theology of painting” (Luca Giordano) or the “philosophy of art” (Thomas Lawrence). Its enigmatic iconography seems to be one of the best reflections on the question: What is a painting able to show? In the centre of the composition we see the young Infanta Margarita wearing a robe typical for the time, yet it is by far unsuitable for a 5-year old. The little girl is standing there, rigid as if wearing armour, not capable of moving naturally and sternly looking towards the observer. Dresses of that era deform the body and do not allow its original shape to be seen. The tight corsage and the crinoline reflect an ideal silhouette of the time, however the anatomical facts as well as the age of the wearer are being totally neglected. The garment does reflect a premature eroticisation. Fabian Vogler uses the young Infanta as a basic shape to build his sculptures for this series.”

Quote from “Events of Plasticity” by Sophie Cieslar from the book „Perfect Imperfection. Sculptures and Reliefs 2011-2015“ (pictus verlag 2015, ISBN 978-3-927212-81-7)

This is an anthropological approach: What are human beings all about? How does the time we live in influence our being? Starting from elemental forms, which are deeply rooted in our sub-conscious he endeavours to create “contemporary idols”. Each time has its idols, what might one of these look like today?“

Quote from „Archetypes of the 21.century“ by Sophie Cieslar from the book „Perfect Imperfection. Sculptures and reliefs 2011-2015“ (pictus verlag 2015, ISBN 978-3927212817)

[1]Interview with Fabian Vogler, Vienna February 2015

“Simplicity is complexity resolved”1, writes Constantin Brancusi. The simple form is mantling the essence, the spiritual reality in each sculpture. The head, most reduced, is for Brancusi the ideal image of the Greek “idea”. The simplicity, balance and stillness of Brancusi’s Sleeping Muse leads us directly to Fabian Vogler’s three series of heads.”

Quote from „Archetypes of the 21.century“ by Sophie Cieslar from the book „Perfect Imperfection. Sculptures and reliefs 2011-2015“ (pictus verlag 2015, ISBN 978-3927212817)

[1] Jerome Neutres, ”Brancusi in New York 1913-2013”, London 2013