you don't know what love is | by alex diamond

The interactive installation “You Don’t Know What Love Is” has seen a total of three installments, starting in November 2007 for the solo-show "love me with a gun to my head" (heliumcowboy artspace) with the set up of a church-like, dark prayer-room integrating the bar of the gallery in Hamburg and creating a room within the room. Oddly shaped cut wood, painted black, was used for the exterior walls; inside, a reversed cross cut out to reveal the sole light source shining through the small opening. The light illuminated the centre of the work, a mobile with over 30 little characters hanging from invisible threads.  These characters, drawn in ink on transparent paper, were the only thing that survived all three set ups: for the presentation of the work at the scope art fair New York 2008, the prayer room became a claustrophobic 140 x 120 x 190 cm small box (internal dimensions). The mobile was again hidden behind a wooden wall, this time viewable from the inside through two crosses, one of which was upside down. The box was covered inside with soft red velvet, the floor filled up with bark mulch, 30 cm high. Stepping into the dark box through a golden curtain, visitors first saw the illuminated crosses and smelled the mulch, before looking through the openings and seeing the characters. Standing inside, feet deep in the bark mulch and surrounded by the plush velvet, visitors would see the characters start to softly move - due to the breeze made by their  breath whilst looking through the crosses.  This boxed version of the installation was then shown again in Hamburg in Summer 2008 for the 5-year anniversary exhibition of the heliumcowboy artspace. The bark mulch extended from the box, covering a large space on the floor, arranged in the typical Alex Diamond shapes.

installation view, scope new york, march 2008. Afterwards it was destroyed, with the exception of the little drawings, which are the only remaining essence of the installation. “You Don’t Know What Love Is” is a quote from a White Stripes Song. Like every good song, it deals with our struggle to be truly loved. Here, it is used as a provocative statement, and you can either go inside the installation to confess (which makes the box a confessional) or bare your heart to the demons of love. Artwork info: Installation (Box) approx. 150 x 290 x 150 cm (outside) and 140 x 120 x 190 cm (inside). Plywood, paint, marker, drawings on transparent paper (mobile), spotlights, fabric, bark mulch (2007 – 2008)