‘Can you see the face in the clouds?’ Most of us have probably asked this question at some point, especially as children, while watching the spectacular white cumulus clouds towering in the blue sky. The constantly changing shape of these clouds invites us to recognise forms that do not necessarily appear identical to different observers. The artist Flaka Haliti used the imagination-stimulating cumulus cloud as the starting point for her unusually delicate, 15-metre-high metal sculpture for the public forecourt of a school and cultural centre. Like a scribbled line, this sculpture seems to ‘draw’ a head in the space, which protrudes vertically from the ground in the lower area and is curved further up so that its ‘face’ can best be seen by those standing below it and looking up. The silhouette stands out particularly impressively against a clear or slightly cloudy sky. This is because the changing appearance of the sky then becomes part of the artwork, with nature becoming an equal component of the relationship between the art object and those who view it.
The title of the sculpture combines both a statement and a question addressed to an imaginary counterpart, thus deliberately allowing for different perspectives on the work. It can thus be understood as an invitation to movement in the square and refers to the shared public space. Especially in front of the ‘Competence Centre for Educational Professions’, a place of qualified training, the creative and social moments emphasise the value of individual and subjective perspectives that stimulate exchange and can be shared.
Text: Bernhart Schwenk