Andreas draw my eye earlier this year with his Vandenberg underwater exhibition. Vandenberg was really an excellent idea although some of the photo-manipulations presented were not as carefully made as I would expect for someone with his stunning portfolio.
His new exhibition ‘the life above refined below‘ (part of “The Sinking world”) is now underwater and waiting for people to visit in the wreckage of SS Stavronikita at Barbados.
The SS Stavronikita lies at the bottom of the ocean at 13.8 N, 59.38 W, right off the Caribbean island of Barbados. It is the spot Andreas Franke has discovered and chosen to stage a game full of overflowing decadence and exuberance.
A traveling salesman, the Stavronikita fell victim to a devastating fire over 20 years ago and with no hope for recovery it was lowered into the silent depths to lie there – fossilized into an artificial reef which one thought would sleep for all eternity.
For his new exhibition Andreas has chosen Rococo as his overarching theme which somehow, due to the general colour tones given by the artist looks incredibly beautiful under the filtered underwater light. This time around the feeling you get is of a more seductive and extravagant era of luscious and scenery that reminded me a lot of works like Marie Antoinette (film) which give the Rococo. a slightly, more modern format.
Those who search for life at its fullest on land will search in vain. They will have to dive to a depth of 24 meters. At 13.8 N, 59.38 W.
