THE SHOPHOUSE is pleased to present Germany based artist Sebastian Burger’s solo exhibition, Broken Wind Repair Kit, concluding the month-long artist residency at the gallery, as well as marking his first solo exhibition in Hong Kong. The exhibition features a series of new paintings displayed across the gallery, showcasing his ongoing exploration of the delicate interplay between industrial, utilitarian, and organic elements, and further extends humanity's enduring yet futile desire to repair and fix not only tangible objects but also intangibles such as wind, breath, memory, and time. Broken Wind Repair Kit probes the instinctual impulse to mend what is deteriorating, while parsing the ephemerality of control and perfection.

Materials reflect the progress of the times and advancements in technology. Contemporary society's pursuit of materials has evolved toward the most robust and durable substances, as if a commitment to permanence. Even when damaged, we swiftly find replacement parts to reinforce our possessions. However, when the affected objects are something soft, intangible, or memories, humanity's responses seem to lag behind. In our quest to move forward, we often find ourselves crafting temporary fixes to navigate immediate obstacles, striving to restore things to their flawless state. Yet, in this exhibition, Burger deliberately magnifies the various fissures and abrupt repairs in objects, challenges viewers to confront the fragile, psychologically fraught systems we’ve built—structures that appear permanent yet alienating, failing to reconcile our physical vulnerability with the illusion of permanence.  

In Burger's latest series, he incorporates found metal fragments and studio detritus—cut-offs of aluminum extrusions, hinges, screws, latches—leaving them raw and unrefined as he assembles them into improvised support structures for his paintings, sometimes becoming integral parts of the imagery. Surrounding his precise and delicate depictions are makeshift yet irrelevant support components, which, upon closer inspection, reveal a reciprocal relationship with the content of the paintings. These materials cease to be mere subjects of painting; they become an essential part of the overall composition.

For instance, Bit (Broken/Mended) and Earrings depict imagery of binding on rusted iron plates—one features a bit used to control a horse, while the other shows an iron ring hanging from a human earlobe. Both images contain points of fracture, yet Burger cleverly employs composition and the extending rusted iron plate to create the illusion of seamless integration. The stark contrast between softness and hardness, along with the rusted iron plate serving as negative space, invites viewers to fill in the visual gaps, resulting in an uncomfortable yet authentic image. The temporary aluminum strip, aligned with the artwork, becomes more than just a support; it further echoes the theme of assembling what is disconnected, rendering the painting a physical object of repair.

Moreover, Burger’s handling of positive and negative space transforms and integrates into the narrative. In Sheperd St Window (16:20), a work completed during his residency, he depicts a window as seen from the gallery. Interestingly, Burger reverses the positive and negative spaces, making the solid window frame and the grime on the glass negative space, while the sunlight illuminating the curtain and reflections, along with the later added aluminum strip, become clear positive space. Burger's paintings usually offer a space for viewer projection; however, the white space here is unprecedentedly clear, seemingly invoking the stains and obstructions that have long accumulated within our psyche through absence and vacancy. This reflects a state of once-flawless existence that can never return. However, the title of the work invites the viewer to return to the moment as perceived by the artist, hinting that the notion of "perfection" is merely one ephemeral form amidst the ever-changing nature of reality.

THE SHOPHOUSE欣然呈獻駐德國藝術家賽巴斯汀・伯格（Sebastian Burger）於畫廊藝術家駐留項目之成果展，亦是他於香港舉辦的首個個展，「Broken Wind Repair Kit」，於畫廊空間中展出一系列全新繪畫作品。展覽展示了他對工業、實用與有機元素之間微妙互動的持續探究，並將人類對於修補和固定事物那徒勞而恆久的慾望，延伸至無形事物之上，如風、呼吸、記憶或時間。「Broken Wind Repair Kit」詰問人類修補衰敗事物的本能衝動，並闡釋控制與無瑕的短暫性。

物料反映了時代與技術的進步，當代社會對物料的追求，已發展至最堅固、最耐用的材質，猶如對於恆久不摧的承諾，即便遭受損害，我們依然迅速找到替代的配件加以鞏固。但若遭受捐害的對象是柔軟的、無形的、記憶的，人類的應對卻似乎沒有與時俱進。我們為了持續前進，即使苦無對策也得找到臨時的修復方案，克服即時的障礙，讓事物回歸無瑕。然而，是次展覽的作品中，伯格刻意放大事物的各種裂縫與突兀的修補狀態，挑戰觀者面對自身建立脆弱而充滿心理困境的系統，透過凝視永久卻異化的結構，反思身體脆弱性與持久幻覺之間無法調解的矛盾。

在伯格最新系列的創作中，他將現成金屬碎片和工作室中找到的廢料——如鋁擠壓的切割物、鉸鏈、螺絲、閂——融入作品，保持其原始狀態，並即興組裝成支撐畫作的結構，甚至成為畫面的一部分。包覆著其精準而細膩描繪的是臨時安裝且毫不相干的支撐配件，但當觀者仔細觀看便可察覺，現成配件與畫面的內容結構實際上是雙互呼應且彼此填補的。這些物料不再只是繪畫的對象，而是真實地成為整個畫面的一部分。

例如《Bit (Broken/Mended)》和《Earrings》分別呈現了於生鏽鐵板上描繪的束縛意像——固定於馬嘴的水勒與懸掛在人類耳垂上的鐵環。兩者在畫面上均有斷裂之處，伯格卻巧妙地利用構圖及延展的生鏽鐵板使它們看似無縫接合。柔軟與剛硬的強烈對比，以及生鏽鐵板作為留白空間，讓觀者自行填補視野遺漏，形成了引發不適卻真實的畫面。與畫面暫時對齊的鋁條，此刻亦不只是畫作的支架，而是進一步呼應了接合的主題，讓繪畫成為一件臨時修補的物件。

此外，伯格對於虛實空間的處理也得以轉化並融入敘事之中。於駐留期間完成的作品《Sheperd St Window (16:20)》，描繪了從畫廊向外望去的一扇窗戶。伯格將事物的正負空間互換，堅固的窗框及玻璃上的污漬成為負空間；陽光映照的窗簾與倒影，以及後來加上的現成鋁條，則成為清晰的正空間。伯格的繪畫一向提供觀者投射的空間，然而這裡的留白卻是前所未有的明確，彷彿故意透過挑空與缺席喚起那一直沉積於我們心理之內的污點與阻礙，反映出曾經無暇卻此曾不再的狀態。然而，作品的標題卻引領觀者回到藝術家觀看的當下，彷彿暗示人造的「完美」概念，亦不過是瞬息萬變的事物形態中，剎那而頃刻的其中一種。