Expanded Viewing I + II (Garden of Earthly Delights) by LABOUR and Isabel Lewis | 2019
Martin Gropius Bau

In May 2019, LABOUR and Isabel Lewis presented a new work that used the dramaturgical structure of Hieronymus Bosch's famous triptych Garden of Earthly Delights, using music,algorithmic sound composition, subtle performance gestures and smell to forge a contemporary relation to the painting.

Giving ghostly presence to the two oak panels of the triptych not on display, visitors were led through a row of empty spaces that become a passage for the attunement of the senses. The unfolding of performance and sound elements activates the architecture of the first floor of Gropius Bau in a journey through nine rooms, drawing visitors toward the final scene, the reception of the central panel.

Two distinct temporal pieces were created: the first presented a composed sequence of events throughout seven gallery rooms for small groups at precisely timed intervals, while the second was always on, changing and evolving with the opportunity to stay as long as desired. Both pieces occurred simultaneously, and both arrived at the painting itself, accessed by different sides of the Groupis Bau’s first floor.