Balloon Museum - THERE, WHERE I AM ABSENT

2026

THERE, WHERE I AM ABSENT

There, Where I am Absent is a kinetic sculpture featuring a single, isolated mechanical wing suspended from the ceiling and rotated 90 degrees from its natural orientation. By separating the wing from its counterpart, the sculpture highlights a sense of absence and fragmentation.

Directly above, a mirrored ceiling captures and reflects the movement, visually completing the full! anatomy. The second wing exists only as an image-never fully material, yet undeniably present through the reflection. The artwork truly activates when a visitor lies down underneath the suspended wing. From this perspective, the viewer's own reflection enters the overhead mirror, merging their body with the sculpture. The visitor ceases to be a mere observer; they become an integral part of the reflection, the installation, and the phantom flight of the machine.

There, Where I am Absent is made with Acket's signature lightweight fabrics and continues his exploration of control and surrender. The overlength between the rod's catching the air will never move the same way twice. Derived from Boris Acket's renowned work The Bird of a Thousand Voices, this sculpture – like the search for the magical firebird by protagonist Areg (named after the light of the sun), and Da Vinci's sketches of a dream machine to make human kind fly -is about the relationship between illusion and what you choose to believe in. The Bird of a Thousand Voices was originally made for jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan in a stage production directed by Ruben van Leer.

AUDIOGUIDES

Adult ENG

Adult ESP

Kid ENG

Kid ESP

Artist

BORIS ACKET