Mental journey

Stephan Huber – Passage durch den Überbau

29.11.2020
Stephan Huber, Passage durch den Überbau, 2014, laid paper on aluminum Dibond, 105 x 223 cm, private collection, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2020 & Stephan Huber

Stephan Huber visualizes biographical, philosophical, geographical, and artistic contexts. The artist’s life is the basis for Passage durch den Überbau. His birthplace, on the left edge of the map, is the starting point. A colorful life’s journey unfolds from here, and it rarely runs straight. Smaller islands merge with larger landscapes, personal insights lead to renowned philosophers. Huber tries, for instance, to map different regions with personalities such as Jean-François Lyotard, Gilles Deleuze, or Theodor W. Adorno. 

Each centimeter of these topographic collages is covered with annotations and images, some humorous, others tragic so that the complete map reveals its secrets only very slowly. Passage durch den Überbau is a very personal expedition map as well as an extravagant mind map that guides the observant viewer through the artist’s multi-layered world of thought.

PCH