EIKE

We see a nearly five-meter high column of sunshine. Among the white ropes, suspended around the roof window and hanging to the floor tightly side by side, natural daylight streams into the room depending on the time of day, determining our sense of time and space. Already through this installation, The Tunnel, can the fundamental directions of Eike’s art be traced. One of these is the insistence on the natural, the given, as well as the desire to keep the applied technology human and tangible to a certain extent. Eike wants to create rapport between the objects and the viewers; in this way his works also have a more spontaneous emotional impact besides the rational explanation.

His Virtuality Machine is basically a cube made up of semi-transparent mirrors. There is a bulb inside, the light of which slowly pulsates. When the light is off, the viewer sees himself as if in a mirror. When it is on, the bulb is reflected within the cube, not once, but a hundred or a thousand times, endlessly, on each side, from each angle. It is as if we were in the Enchanted Castle at an amusement park – but not entirely, since the viewer of the cube is excluded from the space of reflection. It is like a virtual space, constructed with the simplest possible technology. We would like to enter, but it is impossible, even if we see the mirrored space to penetrate into the real one.

As if a carrot were dangled before us, something is shown and something is not, and that is the most interesting thing about it. Eike merely sets the tone, leaving the viewer to decide how to continue. In all of his works Eike demonstrates very clearly that in fact we always see just one side, we are able to represent only one point of view; with this comes the realisation that in the world as in art, there are no absolute truths. The work Escape consists of a monitor, placed on a revolving base. On the screen a globe revolves at the same speed. Provided the visitor moves in synch with the monitor, he can see all sides; but he can see just one side in each moment, and never the whole globe.

Nevertheless, this realisation, instead of bringing satisfaction, results in more heightened curiosity, the desire of the individual interpretation of infinity. X=X+1 (INCREmental) is maybe the most banal, but at the same time the most honest work of the artist. It seems to be an endless film, in which Eike counts until infinity or until whenever, as it is impossible to count to something that does not exist. This might as well be a metaphor for art; we strive, create and try to become Dorian Gray, but as we cannot see everything, we are unable to know or show every thing either. For all its technological complexity, the work`s message is simple and human.

In Eike’s case the application of technology does not mean that the medium itself is art; the technique remains a tool. For example he does not primarily use the computer to create images, but makes use of the infinite possibilities offered by the programs. On the stage of the installation The Stage a computer analyses the rhythm and distance of the steps of the dancers, and creates melodies on the basis of the incoming information. If somebody dances rhythmically for a longer period, complex rhythms and melodies are born; simpler steps result in a more modest sounds.

The 'humanisation' of the applied technology is evident in other works as well, mostly when it is counterpointed by dance. Dance is the most ancient way of experiencing space. The dancer, often the artist himself, instinctively moves and steps about, of course, within his own borders, or the borders constructed by him. The Golden Cage reinforces the idea that borders exist, even if they are set up by the artist himself. Eike dances to music that cannot be heard by the visitor, who can only fumble about in the silence, trying to solve the rhythm. The frame has been given, and if the dancer wants to move freely, he nearly has to sacrifice his very own body.

In spite of the fact that the figure is confined within borders, an immense sense of freedom eminates from this dance. We see a man dancing, who is experienced enough to set up his own borders. It is as if only the feeling and the understanding were important, as in Eike’s case it is evident, which came previously. First comes the idea, the feeling and the experience, then followed by the choosing of the appropriate medium to formulate the message most precisely.

Eike’s artistic self-confidence is rooted in the wide range of his work; he creates objects, photos, videos, installations as well as computer-works. In addition, he organises other artists`s exibitions, looking for ways to create the ideal exhibition. This should include many points of view and diverse statements. He has lived in Hungary for over ten years. He lives where he wants to, and does what he wants to. And it is precisely this sense of freedom which runs through his work.