About

Disorientation, ambiguity, perceptual bewilderment – these are some of the sensations aroused by the works of Leandro Erlich. Starting from the presupposition that reality and appearance blend in with each other, the artist creates places with uncertain boundaries. The point of observation is continually subject to inversion (interior/exterior, high/low, inside/outside), resulting in images that trigger illusory sensations in the viewer.

In Changing Rooms the artist also simulates the construction of an environment that is a familiar part of our everyday lives. But after crossing the threshold, the boundaries between reality and representation seem to become blurred, and the viewer finds him or herself projected into an illusory space where the parameters of perception have altered and the real world is transformed.

Leandro Erlich was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1973. An architect of the uncertain, Erlich creates spaces with fluid and unstable boundaries. Before one tries to make sense of his sculptures and installations, one senses the uncanny. A single change (up is down, inside is out) can be enough to upset the seemingly normal situation, collapsing and exposing our reality as counterfeit. Through this transgression of limits, the artist undermines certain absolutes and the institutions that reinforce them.

A special installation presented by TDIC in honour of the 40th National Day Celebrations, Changing Rooms by Leandro Erlich is open for visitors to explore 10am – 8pm in the gardens of Manarat Al Saadiyat until 16 February 2012.