Julian Charrière. Iroojrilik

70 years after the American atomic bomb tests on Bikini Atoll Julian Charrière travelled to an area, which has been made uninhabitable by humans for humans for millions of years. He shows a supposed idyllic paradise. The remnants of the bomb tests below sea level are taken from marine algae; bunkers at seaside are overgrown already. The images show that the end of mankind will not be the end of earth.

The title »Iroojrilik« cites the name of the »Master of the West and spirit of fertility«, a mythological figure of the Bikini islanders' who were once told that they would only be temporarily resettled.

Last but not least the video makes the post nuclear scenario physically tangible as a spatial experience through its digital revised soundtrack of ambient noise. The screen shots are of seductive beauty. In the wake of the images, the abandoned ruins appear still more depressing and scary.

Charrière calls himself a "future archaeologist". For him, these »unwanted monuments« mark the moment when man has become one of the most important factors of influencing the biological, geological, and atmospheric processes on Earth.

Julian Charrière was born in Morges in the French Switzerland in 1987. He lives in Berlin. 2006 he began studying art in the Switzerland and moved 2007 to Universityt of Fine Arts, Berlin, where he completed his studies with Olafur Eliasson in 2013.

Recent Exhibitions: Venice Biennial, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Kunsthalle Mainz, Kunstpalais Erlangen, Taipei Biennial, AROS Art Museum, Aarhus, Sprengel Museum Hannover.

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