IM DUNKEL LEUCHTET
Black out poetry, a book, and an ecosystem
Concept
Im Dunkel leuchtet began with a simple action: reading a newspaper and deciding which words should remain visible.
In 2020, I started working with articles from a local newspaper. Using a black marker, I covered most of the text and left a few words behind. I didn't begin with a message in mind. I chose words intuitively, and sometimes the phrases I found were exactly what I needed to hear myself.
The result was a collection of short, aphoristic texts. Simple phrases I wanted to read again, remember, and repeat — almost like mantras.
In 2026, I selected the texts that stayed with me and brought them together as a self-published book. Read one after another, the short phrases form something like a poem.
For me, the book is not the end of the process. It is the starting point for an expanding body of work.
The Process
I work with existing language rather than writing every sentence from scratch. The newspaper provides the material; the black marker removes most of it. What remains is shaped by selection, chance, and intuition.
The process is both simple and repetitive: read, select, cover, discover. Sometimes I understand the meaning of a phrase only after I have found it. That's how the black out poetry technique works.
The original newspaper articles became the physical source of the texts. I scanned the pages and used the selected fragments to create Im Dunkel leuchtet, a self-published book containing 45 short texts across 48 pages.
The book brings these fragments together in one place. Each page offers a small amount of language and space to pause, read, and return to the words.
The Book
Im Dunkel leuchtet is a collection of short texts made by reducing existing newspaper articles to a few remaining words.
Black ink, white space, and the original printed language form a simple visual system. The reduced texts invite repeated reading. Their meaning can change depending on when and how they are encountered.
The book brings together the phrases I wanted to keep. It also gives me a way to share them with others.
Beyond the Book
The book opened up new possibilities for working with the texts. I began translating individual phrases into different materials and forms.
I made drawings and illustrations, calligraphy works, embroidery on fabric, light sculptures, paper sculptures, and reading cards. Each work gives the words a different physical presence. They can be read on a page, encountered on a wall, held in the hand, or revealed through light.
My earlier experience publishing and illustrating my own texts, as well as texts by others, made me curious about what happens when language moves beyond the printed page. Here, the words themselves become the starting point for visual and spatial experiments.
The materials remain simple: paper, newspaper, fabric, ink, thread, and light. White space, black marks, reduction, and repetition connect the works to one another.
Installation & Archive
The original newspaper articles are part of the work, too.
I created an installation using the articles from which the book's texts emerged. Seen together, they reveal the source material behind the reduced phrases and bring the process back into view.
The archive connects the different stages of the project: newspaper articles, blackout fragments, the book, working materials, and the works developed from its texts. Each artwork is numbered, signed, and archived.
What began as an individual act of reading and selecting words becomes a collection of objects, images, and spaces — each offering another way to encounter the same language.
An Ongoing Project
Im Dunkel leuchtet continues to develop beyond the book. The texts can take on new forms and meanings as they move between materials, spaces, and people.
The starting point remains small: a newspaper, a black marker, and a few words worth keeping.
Book: Im Dunkel leuchtet
Published: 2026
Format: Self-published, 48 pages
ISBN: 9783565430246
© XaeK