'Sometimes I prefer to sit on a chair on the earth surrounded by universes'

It is the playful title of a recent solo exhibition by Alicja Kwade in Seoul. And note how Alicja Kwade, with Siège du Monde (2021), makes childlike dreams tangible by bringing two objects together. The chair looks like it has come from a charity shop or a cafe. The globe under the seat is smooth polished marble. The universe expands around all those who sit in thought, as the world spins at lightning speed.

Alicja Kwade's artworks and installations play on the subjectivity of time and space.

In Siège du Monde, the infinitely grand and the intimate come together at a glance. The poetic image indicates the relativity of the cold clamour on earth. "Our existence in this tiny fragment of history is a complete coincidence," explains Alicja Kwade, "and still, everyone takes everything so incredibly seriously – that’s just absurd!" Does the chair offer a way out of the harsh earthly reality?  Alicja Kwade invites us, the viewers, to dream and contemplate with her and, once we can see clearly again and stand up, to act accordingly.

Alicja Kwade (b. 1979, Katowice, Poland) lives and works in Berlin. She works at the interface between art and science. The big difference between her and a scientist? As an artist, she has nothing to prove.

Until 4 December, you can discover other works of art at the crossroads between art, technology and science in the exhibition Faces of Water (Bozar Lab). A reflection on the many “faces” of water.