A poem about oblivion.

The black bars are printed with just enough transparency
to make the text underneath legible.

The often meditative ascent, the ice-cold glacier water and the seemingly never-ending expanse on the mountain help processing images in the mind.

The German language offers a special feature here: The capitalized word ‘Vergessen’ can be read both as a verb and as a noun. So the message can change from ‘My power lies in forgetting’ to ‘I have forgotten my power’.

“Forgetting is Power” presents a poem printed on baryta paper, with its lines obscured by nearly impenetrable black bars. This visual barrier causes the words to emerge only faintly, requiring careful observation to decipher them. When one takes a step back, the readable message retreats into the impenetrable black and disappears— a metaphor for the elusive nature of remembering and forgetting.

The poem itself guides the viewer into an imaginary landscape, where the ascent, the penetrating cold of glacial waters, and the boundless expanse of the mountains create a meditative experience. This scene becomes a symbol of processing and letting go of inner images, representing a symbolic journey into forgetting.

In the German language, there is a particular play of interpretations: the word “Vergessen,” capitalized, oscillates in meaning between a verb and a noun. It wavers between an active action— “My power lies in forgetting”— and a loss— “I have forgotten my power.” Thus, the work draws the viewer into a dialogical space where forgetting can be understood both as a liberating process and as a painful loss.

Through the use of black bars, not only the content but also the physical experience of the viewer becomes part of the artwork. The moment when the words are deciphered or remain obscured invites reflection on the fragility of memory and the strength that can lie in forgetting itself.