Marisa Schlichthorst

Resting place

If we were to live 40 feet under ground surrounded by thick walls of concrete, monumental structures, artificial light, nothing to see but harsh lines and edges – where would we rest our eyes in this kind of world?

In Resting place I construct a utopian world void of access to the natural environment, a scenario not far from apocalyptic predictions for human existence caused by the continued abuse of this planet. We soon discover that concrete alone cannot feed our hungry optical nerves. Restless the eye keeps searching through the images, trying to find something to hold onto, something that’s different from a flat surface, something that promises life by hinting a memory, a colour or maybe even an exit to escape.

This project is an exploration of how we as humans would cope with the complete disconnect from nature. The architectural images were taken in the General Motors Headquarters building in Detroit, USA. I wandered through the impressive and imposing structures like through a labyrinth from another world and time feeling mesmerised and alienated at the same time. The simplicity and harshness of the concrete is contrasted with fading copies of natural scenes and dashes of colour hinting at the existence of life – or maybe not.

The question remains, can we imagine to live like this…