“ALCOVE IN SITU” is a work designed by Encor Studio from Switzerland and belongs to its ongoing series: Subtractive Series – In the Shadow of Presence: Explorations at the Edge of Memory and Perception.
In this 15 × 7 m installation, the Studio examines the delicate boundary between presence and absence—where the unseen may evince a stronger presence than what appears before us. Rooted in reflections on memory, loss, and perception, the work considers how the immaterial can leave the most enduring imprint, and how involuntary memory—those sudden, unbidden recollections—can illuminate the meaning of what once felt fleeting.
Here, perception itself becomes the medium. Objects give way to their own afterimages, to traces impressed upon the senses. Through subtle manipulations of light, translucency, and the shifting boundaries between interior and exterior, each installation unfolds as a meditation on the impermanence of experience.
Built on their Subtractive Series, this body of work embraces minimalism and energy-conscious design, turning architecture into a living, responsive canvas. In this space, concealment becomes revelation and absence assumes the heft of presence. The series echoes the spirit of Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, where memory is not summoned but reawakened—intimate, elusive, and profoundly human.
Encor Studio was established in 2016 by Swiss audiovisual artists Mirko Eremita, David Houncheringer, Manuel Oberholzer, and Valerio Spoletini. Together, they bring a diversity of sensibilities and skills that define the studio’s distinctive identity and collective vision. Blending technology with lo-fi materials, developing bespoke tools, and experimenting with music scales, Encor Studio follows an ongoing pursuit in which beauty takes centre stage. Their practice foregrounds the symbolic resonance of light and sound, merging technology with the physicality of space. By making hidden information perceptible—interwoven with our physical and social environments—they invite new ways of seeing an ever-changing world that, like light itself, escapes our grasp.
Working across kinetic sculpture, architecture, installation, and sound visualisation, the studio persistently tests the boundaries of perception. Using mirrors, digital imagery, creative coding, data, water, and sound waves, they construct experiences in which spatial and material qualities assume unexpected forms. As viewers’ mental states shift, reality becomes warped—both literally and metaphorically—prompting contemplation of the human condition. This dynamic interplay between perception and concept captures transient moments that chart the studio’s exploratory path.
In its most recent phase, Encor Studio embraces a reductionist philosophy—subtracting rather than adding, allowing light and surroundings to take precedence. By embracing locally sourced materials and energy efficiency, the studio articulates a quiet resistance to uniformity and excess.