Jan Wegmann / Strandung
Strandung is a deeply reflective work, part of a larger cycle that represents the artist's evolving sense of self, their role as an artist, and the shifting perspectives shaped by recent years. This period of transformation was influenced by three major events: the Covid pandemic, the artist's departure from academia, and the experience of becoming a parent.The piece originates from the poem Ebbe und Flut, which was modified and expanded with the assistance of AI. Strandung explores themes of fluidity—whether of water, a person, or time. It is directly born from feelings of helplessness and stagnation, emotions that crash into life like waves in the worst moments and one having to find back to civilization. This ebb and flow of emotions forms a continuous cycle, much like the tides. From these sentiments, the visual elements were created, combining imagery of water, waves, cargo containers, and reliefs from satellite photos and human skin.The foundation of the audio lies in Carmen Kleykens Vidal’s cello improvisations, which were then carefully edited and arranged and complemented with synthesizers and field recordings.
Jan Wegmann (*1992 in Stuttgart) is a multimedia artist, composer and performer from Hamburg. He studied music design at the Hochschule für Musik Trossingen, a course that combines various subjects such as sound design, composition, technology and performance. He then studied Multimedia Composition at HfMT Hamburg to further develop his skills in composition and technology and to experiment with topics such as spatialization, microtonality and live visuals.He has studied with Luís Antunes Pena, Alexander Schubert, Georg Hajdu and Fredrik Schwenk. During an internship with the E-MEX Ensemble Essen in 2015/16, he gained experience in the world of contemporary ensemble music. In 2022 he founded the GlitterBox Collective together with Carmen Kleykens Vidal and VictorPiano. He is also a founding member of the improvisation groups Bunte Luft Trio and YNFB.
His work focuses on small details, giving them space to unfold and showing overlaps and tensions between different materials. He creates drifting structures of layers, sometimes abstract, sometimes ironic, but always combined with the goal of a holistic and concentrated result. His compositions often have a performative component, exploring the expressive power and presence of a person on a stage or in a performance context.To realize his work he combines his various influences and skills and uses a multitude of resources, self-programmed software tools, hardware synthesizers, controllers or sensors. He uses found material, sounds, videos, texts, or 3D/VR visuals and works together with other artists to create immersive atmospheres that fill the space and challenge the perception of the audience. https://wegmann.digital
His work focuses on small details, giving them space to unfold and showing overlaps and tensions between different materials. He creates drifting structures of layers, sometimes abstract, sometimes ironic, but always combined with the goal of a holistic and concentrated result. His compositions often have a performative component, exploring the expressive power and presence of a person on a stage or in a performance context.To realize his work he combines his various influences and skills and uses a multitude of resources, self-programmed software tools, hardware synthesizers, controllers or sensors. He uses found material, sounds, videos, texts, or 3D/VR visuals and works together with other artists to create immersive atmospheres that fill the space and challenge the perception of the audience. https://wegmann.digital