In his work Wittgenstein’s Cabin, visual artist Dionisio González imagines fantastical aquatic houses. These constructions are constructed out of fanciful shapes wrapped in weathered metals and set against a lovely backdrop of Norwegian fjords. Despite the fact that his creations come in a variety of shapes and sizes, they all belong to the same family of fantasy structures on water.
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein, a philosopher who researched the foundations of mathematics, mind, and language, provided the series’ name and inspiration. In the little Norwegian settlement of Skjolden, Wittgenstein erected a home for himself overlooking a lake in 1914. Despite the fact that Wittgenstein’s hut was extremely different in appearance from González’s odd structures, both projects were intended to be locations for thought inquiry.
The philosopher’s work required the use of both architecture and water. ‘On a boat his buddy David Pinsent sailed in the Sognefjord, Wittgenstein concentrated on his logic studies,’ González explains. “This fact, this ‘event’ of the research, learning and memorizing on a tiny aquatic mode of transportation that also acts as a writing desk, encouraged me to investigate the link between architecture and water, as well as philosophy as a ‘amphibious’ undertaking.” With the current media, how would Wittgenstein frame that organic architecture, that architectonic composition in a liquid medium? What will modern cabins look like in diffracting wave propagation conditions like the Norwegian fjords?”
The pieces in Wittgenstein’s Cabin take the hermit’s hideaway to a new level, wondering how abstract concepts may be translated into current structures. The amphibious aspect of the buildings is important to González, who hopes that it will generate a contemplative mood.
Despite the lack of intentions to construct the fanciful structures seen in González’s photos, the work successfully revisits concepts of isolation and philosophy in a more current setting. More photographs from the series may be found by scrolling down.
Wittgenstein’s Cabin is a series that looks at the architecture of contemplation.
Dionisio González imagines amphibious houses based on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s philosophy.
Dionisio González: Website | Instagram