The Limits of Matter

Norwegian-German artist Yngve Holen (born 1982 in Braunschweig, lives and works in Berlin) engages with transportation, technology, and the human body through sculpture and imaging techniques. His series of works from 2010 to 2015 document the use of techniques such as 3D printing and high-pressure water jet cutting, the utilization of spare parts from our consumer culture, as well as custom-made items, thereby exploring the material boundaries of modern industries and our everyday environment.

Trypophobia is Holen's first monograph and includes seven contributions from writers and artists. Formally, the multiple transitions from silky image printing paper to matte natural paper mark the shift from the image to the text section; thematically, a so-called SWOT analysis of the artist by Aedrhlsomrs Othryutupt Lauecehrofn, which examines Holen's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, serves as the introduction.

Victoria Camblin then discusses Holen's use of industrial products with holes and their esoteric and erotic significance in art history. An essay by Thom Bettridge, along with a conversation with the artist, addresses our compulsive pursuit of cleanliness, the notion of the consumer as a product, and the question of the lifespan of ideas.

S01E01 writes about the influence of high speeds, particularly from commercial air travel, on our psyche. Pablo Larios outlines the problems of the present, including the animistic and fetishistic aspects of capitalism, the coded transmission of highly specialized knowledge, and forms of biological humor in sculpture.

Holen's 3D print of a screw in titanium quality for his work Hater Head is the focus of the essay by Karl Holmqvist, who examines the role of such small elements in our constructed environment, as well as in our thoughts and fantasies.