Adan Alem
An Untouchable Point
This project takes the viewer on a journey between the visible and the hidden, revealing the limits of our self-perception. At the center of the room stands a sculpture made of metal mesh, twisted onto itself like a maze or tunnel. At first glance, it seems to invite the viewer to enter its depths, but it quickly becomes clear that reaching its end is impossible. Despite the solidity of its material, the surface retains a softness, leaving the viewer suspended between two contrasts: hardness and gentleness, proximity and distance.
Around this structure, paintings complement the idea in various ways. Some feature flowing curved lines with no beginning or end, while others depict images such as a door leaking mist or a body revealing its inner void. These works play with the relationship between the “name” and the “named”: the door may not be a door, and the body may reveal only its absence. The sign does not reflect its reality but hints at what lies beyond, inviting viewers to question the distance between a name and what it signifies.
The central idea is not to reach a final answer, but to confront the limits of understanding. Depth here is not a place to reach an endpoint, but an ongoing journey that unveils a deeper layer at every step, without complete arrival. The exhibition thus becomes an invitation to listen to emptiness rather than trying to fill it, and to embrace ambiguity as part of the human experience.