Ceal Floyer
Peel, 2003

Artist
Ceal Floyer

Title
Peel

Year of creation
2003

Technology and dimensions
Single-channel video, color, silent, 00:46 min, dimensions variable, 3/3 + 2 AP

Year of acquisition
2020

Donor
Dr. Christian Bauschke

Acquisition of the foundation

Ceal Floyer's works are characterized by the interplay of a restrained visual and formal language and the pointed and humorous use of language, images and media with the ulterior motive of sharpening our perception. In her own minimalist and poetic approach, the conceptual artist has been dealing with objects, images and media of her time in her installations and performances for almost 30 years now, creating contemporary testimonies that, through their simplicity and directness, make us pause and to question what is taken for granted.

When choosing her image motifs, Floyer is often guided by the nature of the media she uses and always takes the titles of her works literally, as in the wall-filling projection Peel . From the top right corner, the white wallpaper appears to be gradually peeling away from the wall until it has completely “peeled off”. Instead of the raw wall, however, a white surface appears again, whereupon the process is repeated and the next layer of wallpaper “peels off”. The projection in a continuous loop creates the impression that the wall of the museum architecture is being removed layer by layer. For this simulation, Floyer used the function of the same name in the Adobe Premiere computer software that was popular at the time Peel . The video editing program's 'peel' effect symbolized the turning of a page when transitioning from one image to the next. By projecting the program function without image content, Floyer takes the 'tool' to absurdity and turns the effect itself into a motif.

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