Introduction

Each perched on their own pedestal, Afsaneh, Asra and Drishti are at first glance owls carved in beige marble. In Julia Scher’s imagination however, the form of the owl is not strictly bird-like, the stance and legs are modeled on those of humans, specifically of men, while the imposing shoulders and brow are of human and horse origins. Even the owl’s coat is a mix of feathers and hair. The combination of human and animal characteristics are a nod towards a post-human interspecies future, as well as a reference to the large role that human imagination plays in how we interpret the behaviors of animals. Signifiers of wisdom and watchfulness, owl’s night vision and the ability to see prey make the animal a formidable hunter and predator, suggesting a subtle but wide-reaching analogy to surveillance technologies and their usages.

Every owl in the series has been given a unique feminine name. Afsaneh derives from the Persian word for “legend” or “story,” alluding to the owl’s deep roots in folklore and mythology across cultures. Asra, meaning “travels at night” in Arabic and “generous” or “noble” in Urdu, evokes both nocturnal movement and moral character. Drishti, a Sanskrit term for “sight” or “vision,” extends into broader interpretations of insight, perception, and wisdom—traits long attributed to owls in the human imagination.

The installation includes a custom-designed sound created by Julia Scher specifically for HALLEN 06. Each of the three marble owls addresses visitors in a voice that is at once soothing and disquieting—hovering between prophecy and forewarning. Though frozen in stone, the owls seem momentarily animated, as if surveillance itself had taken physical form.
Julia Scher’s engagement with marble sculpture began in 2004 with a series of Doberman dogs—icons of protection and alertness—rendered as silent sentinels. First shown in the 2008 exhibition Deep Comedy, curated by Dan Graham, these sculptures were accompanied by audio recordings of Scher’s own voice, channeled through the dogs as an extension of their watchful presence. In this latest work, the owls inherit that legacy, merging material, sound, and symbolism into a multifaceted meditation on observation and control.

Julia Scher was born in 1954 in Hollywood, California. The artist currently lives and works in Cologne. Emerging in the mid 1980s as precise but playful analyst of social and technological changes, Julia Scher has been dealing with video surveillance for more than 30 years. Her work addresses surveillance both as a concrete phenomenon of control, including its apparatus and architecture, as well as its impact on private and public sphere. Very early on, her performance and video installations drew attention to the effects of increasingly ubiquitous cameras and monitors, anticipating our surveillance alienated society.

Among her most recent institutional exhibitions are: Maximum Security Society, Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach (2023); Maximum Security Society, Kunsthalle Zürich, Zurich (2022); Wonderland, Maison Populaire, Montreuil (2022); Planet Greyhound, Kunsthalle Gießen (2022); Julia Scher, MAMCO, Geneva (2021); and Julia Scher – Delta, Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Aachen (2018).

She is the recipient of several grants and fellowships including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Preservation Grant for Media Arts, the John F. Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship for Installation Art (2005), The Bunting Institute Fellowship for Surveillance Studies at Harvard University (1996–1997), and the NEA Grant for Installation Art (1992).

Julia Scher has taught and lectured at numerous institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Cooper Union for Art and Science, Hartford University Art School, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, Harvard University, Columbia University, The Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, and Rutgers University. While teaching at the Department of Film and Video at the Massachusetts College of Art, (1995-1996), she launched the first “Surveillance Studies” class in the United States. From 2006-2023, Scher was Professor for Multimedia Performance Surveillant Architectures at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne.

Her work is held in multiple collections: The Museum of Modern Art , New York; Ballroom Marfa, Texas; Kunstsammlungen, Wiesbaden; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, New York; Julia Stoschek Collection, Düsseldorf/Berlin; Krannert Art Museum, Champaign, Illinois; Le Consortium, Dijon; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; MAMCO, Geneva; MIT List Visual Art Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Museen Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn; Centre Pompidou, Paris; MoMA PS1, Long Island City, New York; Neue Galerie Graz – Universalmuseum Joanneum, Graz; Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and SFMOMA, San Francisco.

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Also at Hallen 06 Festival, Fluentum Collection will show the video work by Julia Scher, and the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection’s presentation will include a work by Martin Boyce.