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Christian Niccoli's Icelandic Video Explores Heideggerian Notions of Being

artist · 2026-05-04

Christian Niccoli's new video, titled "Untitled," was filmed on the Icelandic highlands. The work presents a fixed shot of an uninhabited landscape under a gray-blue sky, evoking a wintry melancholy. For the first two minutes, nothing happens; then a helicopter approaches, hovers, and a man descends a rope ladder into the void. Niccoli describes the piece as addressing the "irrevocable moment of being-thrown-into-the-world" and the "nudity of being," referencing Heideggerian philosophy. The video emphasizes subtraction and absence, focusing on genesis and the epiphany of life beyond choice.

Key facts

  • Christian Niccoli created a new video titled 'Untitled'.
  • The video was filmed on the Icelandic highlands.
  • It features a fixed shot of an uninhabited landscape.
  • A helicopter appears after two minutes, and a man descends into the landscape.
  • The work explores themes of genesis, being-thrown-into-the-world, and the nudity of being.
  • The artist references Heideggerian philosophy.
  • The video is characterized by subtraction and absence.
  • The work was published on Artribune in January 2014.

Entities

Artists

  • Christian Niccoli

Institutions

  • Artribune

Locations

  • Iceland
  • Icelandic highlands

Sources