Matrixial Spaces (2023)

The Matrix (from Latin matrix, »womb«) according to Ettinger functions as a psychological-philosophical construct in metaphorical reference to the uterus to discuss the origins of ethical understanding and human relationality. The concept of Inner Space, from which art and photography ultimately spring, is closely related to this. Creativity can be understood as the fruitful mergence of an external, haptic reality with an internal, emotional one, resulting in the artwork.

Ettinger defines the principle of conception and filiation ultimately as feminine, which leads to the Matrix as an overarching psychological scheme. On that basis she formulates the theory of a symbolic, female-maternal sphere of encounter, viewing aesthetics and creativity primarily in terms of compassion, respect, care, and responsibility for one another. The principle of the Matrix does not assume a demarcation of the self, but propagates a perception of togetherness.

Against this background, the exhibited works deal with the creative process and this inherently symbolic-feminine perception (which is not necessarily bound to a biological gender), manoeuvring between art, aesthetic theory, philosophy, and psychology.