Natascha Niederstrass : Ruinenlust

We do not simply stumble upon ruins, we seek them out to linger among their tottering, moldering forms – the great broken rhythm of collapsing vaults, truncated columns, crumbling plinths – and savor the thrill of decline and fall, of destabilized totality. Natascha Niederstrass’s new exhibition addresses this fascination with decay and the morbid while also bringing out a post-romantic imaginary of ruined space in relation to its history. This work focuses more specifically on the uninhabited island of Poveglia, located in the Venetian Lagoon, which has recently gained worldwide fame as the “most haunted island in the world.” Through this body of work, Niederstrass also examines the way in which this narrative has rebounded on the island, attracting paranormal enthusiasts. Behind a seemingly trivial narrative, the in-betweenness or transitory state of ghosts.