The Disappearance of Media / A Manifestation of Elephants, 2011 (Artefact reproduction)

And their 2nd and 3rd stage of vanishing in presence of an artefact and many international guests, in honor of the remarkable Harry Houdini and his conducted disappearances of Jenny the Elephant and an anonymous animal trainer at the world famous New York Hippodrome on January 1918.

You can plainly see, the animal is completely gone. 
H.H. 1917 

The installation The Disappearance of Media by Jens Brand directly relates illusions to stage magic. The work can be read as a tribute to Harry Houdini’s famous performance "the vanishing elephant" from 1918. Houdini was one of the first super stars of the early days of mass-media. Despite his reputation as a very poor if not a clumsy performer, he managed to capture world-wide attention thanks to his understanding of mass media and the resulting public relations strategies. The installation in STUK involves amongst others a one person magic theatre that vanishes and produces clay elephants on demand.

Harry Houdini - The Vanishing Elephant Act
Solo exhibition Jens Brand - Voorkamer Lier, 26 Nov 2011 - 22 Jan 2012

Jens Brand (DE)
°1968, Dortmund

The oeuvre of artist Jens Brand consists of diverse installations, music performances, and cross-media works. He studied fine arts at the Münster Academy of Fine Art. Inspired by Phill Niblock and the artistic environment at Paul Panhuysen’s Het Apollohuis, he turned to experimental music and sound art. Since then, he has created an interdisciplinary body of works which have been shown worldwide. Jens Brand lives and works in Berlin, and teaches at the Kunsthochschule in Kassel.