Crisis

Urs Fischer’s works are often unstable, broken, malformed or subject to transformation or decay. Indeed, their dynamic instability and tendency to change is their most powerful aspect. Engaging with themes of transience and mortality, Fischer’s work often references the tradition of memento mori, a 17th-century genre of painting designed to remind viewers of their finitude through the depiction of skeletons and lit candles – symbols that Fischer redeploys in his sculpture and installation practice.

‘Crisis’ and ‘Lamp’, from the ‘6½ domestic pairs project’, reference household items yet strip them of their domestic context, comfort and ease. Both works impart a sense of isolation in company: loneliness and discomfort within the sphere of the home.