Marcel Hiller’s annual edition for the GAK is dedicated to the milieu and material of fly fishing – a type of angling that is characterised by the use of elaborate artificial “flies” as bait. With great care and attention to detail, natural prey such as insects are recreated, and “bait flies” tied, consisting of fur, birds’ feathers, synthetic and a fish hook. The meticulousness, time and colouring that flow into the creation of these small objects raise the swarming creatures, which appear on a mass scale in nature, to unique pieces of artwork.
Hiller has collected 23 fishing baits and placed them individually in wooden frames. Like dissected insects in collection boxes, the baits arouse an ambivalent impression between animate and inanimate matter. With their delicate feathers and colourful fringes they appear at first glance light and playful – contradicted by the metallic flash of the barbed hooks, which evoke a moment of rigour and mercilessness.