X frame

A sculpture as the intersection of the worlds. The “X”, as the third from last in our alphabet, is anything but an ordinary letter. Similar to the zero, which also defines the absence of something, the “X” is often used to represent something that does not exist or appears to be indefinable.

The “X” is created by intersecting of two straight lines and defines a point (non-space) on a surface or in a space. The same applies if the “X” is seen on a timeline: here it stands for the now – and thus for the intangible moment between past and future. In mathematics, the X stands for the unknown, that has not yet been calculated and explored.

The artist has dealt in depth with the unknown, which is expressed in the “X”, and transformed it into a contemporary context. The corona crisis as an amplifier of an unstoppable, digital development confronts us with existential questions: Where are we going as humanity? Where are we evolving to? What is reality, what is fiction?

For Lins, the “X” symbolizes the present, from where we set off into the future. But also the question of the space, in which this future will unfold: rather in a virtual or a real world? Due to the typographic shape of the sculpture, which is inspired by 3D graphics, the artist creates an object, which we actually associate much rather with a virtual space, into reality. Is that shimmering “X”, which hovers in front of a black background, slowly turning in its vertical axis, real or is it a hologram – an “augmented reality”?

The performative, publicly visible creation process of the sculpture is the artist’s radical answer to this question: Like a Zen master, Lins assembles his work into reality in a time-intensive, contemplative process. He focuses all his consciousness into the creation of the sculpture, by implementing a total of almost 800 machine-bolts into the prefabricated frame, in order to cover the very same bolts with a special, chrome-mirrored effect yarn. During the whole process, wether in regards to applying the machine-bolts, or regarding the application of the yarn, it is of utmost importance to constantly maintain a balance of the tractive forces, in order to avoid over- or under-tensioning of the whole sculpture.
Here too, a dialectical symbolism is reflected that refers to the fragility of contemporary society and its internal tensions.

Another aspect is the use of energy required for this kind of project, with which the artist brings its unique piece into reality: The amount of labor required is much higher than what would be needed for an easily reproducible, virtual sculpture. It is therefore also about the question of value and value production (in the sense of Marx) in the context of a digital society and economy.

The X frame can also be described as a postmodern counterpart to a traditional mandala: a meditation object at the intersection of different, individual realities, which animates the observer to become aware of the reality and / or the illusion in which we all live and interact.