Wolfgang Laib

Life and work are strongly connected for Wolfgang Laib. In the rural surroundings of southern Germany, he produces work that adopts a distinct stance in the world of contemporary art, partly due to his use of pure and natural materials such as pollen, rice and beeswax. ‘These materials have an unbelievable energy and strength, which I myself could never create.’ Laib’s Wax Room can be experienced in a number of ways. Its walls and ceiling are covered completely with slabs of beeswax, the scent of which can be intoxicating. Physically, we experience the coercive direction of the narrow passageway. Visually, there is mainly the austere and strong effect of slabs of wax, which are reminiscent of the robust structures of ancient cultures in Egypt and Mesopotamia due to their irregular stacking.