— what if you enter a space
— what if you exit
— and re-enter
— what if up and down fold into one surface
— your shoe is broken
— your shoelace is loose
— undone
— what if you enter a space, and stay
— your walls are falling apart
— crumbling
— what if you scrape the loose plaster with your finger
— what if it gathers tight beneath your nail, hurting a little
— what if the paint is still wet
— dripping
— what if you leave fingerprints everywhere
— staining
— tracing
— what if you point out key moments
— keys
— what if you cover the key moments
— with fog
— what if up and down are bound together by a belt, a shelf
— an endless one
— one that is protected, under construction, smudged
— not to touch
— not to not to touch, touch
— not to press down, press through
— what if we stay
— do you think I have my father’s nose
— what if I collapse
— what if we know this space
— can we stay
— your finger is broken
— crooked
— turning slightly to the left, and turning slightly up, and turning slightly, slightly
— on tiptoes
— what if you catch the light on the tips of your eyelashes
— light behind closed eyelids
— what if I rip you out
— uproot you
— and cover you with a thin blanket
— to collect dust, to protect you from dust, to become dust
— little particles, pollen, microscopic, tiny
— what if we prolong?
Ian Waelder (born 1993 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish artist and publisher. He graduated in Fine Arts from the Städelschule in Frankfurt a. M. His artistic work deals with collective memory practices and personal history and encompasses a variety of media, including photography, sculpture, sound, found objects and printmaking, and room installations. Ian Waelder currently works and lives between Mallorca, Frankfurt am Main, and Basel, where he is currently in residency at the Laurenz-Haus Foundation.
floorplan
fig1
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig2
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig3
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig4
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig5
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig6
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig7
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig8
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig9
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig10
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig11
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig12
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig13
installation view, Ian Waelder, You Who Are The Stranger (Moth Joke), 2023 peephole on door, muted video played on screen, 9 mins
fig14
installation view, Ian Waelder, You Who Are The Stranger (Moth Joke), 2023 peephole on door, muted video played on screen, 9 mins
fig15
installation view, Ian Waelder, You Who Are The Stranger (Moth Joke), 2023 peephole on door, muted video played on screen, 9 mins
fig16
installation view, Ian Waelder, You Who Are The Stranger (Moth Joke), 2023 peephole on door, muted video played on screen, 9 mins
fig17
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig18
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig19
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig20
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig21
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig22
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig23
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig24
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig25
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig26
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig27
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig28
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig29
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig30
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig31
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig32
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig33
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig34
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig35
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
fig36
installation view, Ian Waelder, accompaniment, 2025, paper mache, new and used piano keys, plastic film, air-dry porcelain, prints on paper, tape, switched-on light bulbs, site specific dimension
(Photos: fig1-36 Aaron Amar Bhamra / Laurenz)