„Solarium“ consists of motifs photographed by Iris Helena Hamers herself, search engine results, meme excerpts, manipulated stock material, product photos from advertisements and images that she creates with AI by converting words into images or merging various pictures into one. These different image forms are all of digital origin or have been digitally processed. In the installation, she gives these images a physical form, size, and composition that contrasts with their usual perception on small screens.
Although mostly three-dimensional, Hamers' work is strongly influenced by the history and principles of the traditionally two-dimensional mediums of painting and photography. She is looking at how and what kind of images are produced and consumed by humanity and how to react with yet further images without redundancy. Widespread digital consumption creates a longing for the physical and permanent and a fatigue towards the mass of fleeting images displayed on screens. While digital images usually rush at us in an almost unbearable randomness, quantity and combination, she seeks to give these depictions cohesion. She processes the impact and content of these pictures and aesthetics and creates pieces that allow for a long contemplation and a different encounter through altered form and materiality.
