Claudia Wieser’s show “What Remains” might suggest a deliberateness of self observation here at Galeria Casado Santapau.

The combined elements of imagery and the scale of the plinth adorned with precious objects seemingly suggest a space of contemplation and the implication of drama. Wieser combines these participants from various sources: the real and the fictitious. There are echoes of the fallen in this chamber, a past dynasty one of power, splendour and absurdity. Their actions are turned into stone. Wieser presents us with an archeological puzzle of human proposition that is inevitably bound to fail. The spectator may indeed have to become the actor provoked by questions of participation or entertainment. The stage is set. We are either here to ignite it or to observe, to look, to position ourselves.

Wieser explores her interest in time with a diverse selection of wallpaper. Images of representation of the actual, images of representation of the theatrical representation of the real.

These include portraiture taken from the BBC television production of “I Claudius” (1976) and the film “The Battle of Algiers” (1966) juxtaposed with fragments of antique sculpture and an example of stonework from contemporary Brutalist architecture.
Wieser places the spectator deliberately in the context of known history and it is our prerogative as viewer to engage in the drama or to stand aside and look.