«Portal Kunstgeschichte» March 2004 Karin Ego-Gaal «Basler Zeitung» 12th February 2004 Marion Benz «Portal Kunstgeschichte» March 2004 Karin Ego-Gaal Daniel Lahaii  „KONVOLUT“ At first glance these works are «only» photos of especially eccentric objects that remind one of kitchen appliances of old, of these plastic cream-coloured household objects. But something is different! Could it be that these objects do not really exist? They do look very similar to the appliances mentioned, they are incredibly beautiful and perfect, almost unreal. Already very close to the secret, we must ask ourselves the question: «What functions do these objects fulfil?» - «None at all, for they are fictitious!» is artist Daniel Lahaii’s reply. The exhibition «Konvolut» at «Galerie Daeppen» focuses on the development and forming of virtual objects. The artist Daniel Lahaii was inspired by an omnium gatherum of real everyday objects which he collected during the last years. Though they are not themselves part of the exhibition, they can be viewed in a show window next door. An ocean of cream-coloured objects which receives much attention from the exhibition and attracts a lot of collectors who would gladly buy one piece or the other – «but they are not for sale», says gallery owner Guillaume Daeppen.     A UFO with feet and orange-coloured hooks; a toaster with tubes instead of a toasting rack; a mixer with a pair of bellows; a huge piece of mortadella with eyes; imagination knows no boundary. These devices with their seeming functions, almost all of them creamy-white, were constructed by Daniel Lahaii using 3D-software and realised as photographic enlargement behind acrylic glass. Most of them measure 80 x 60cm, the biggest measures 124 x 162 cm.     The object’s size plays an important role in observer irritation, because on the one hand, the cream-coloured object on the photo is supposed to appear very real. On the other hand, the artist likes to enable a process in which «the mathematical structure of the virtual material exposes the appliance’s unreality through close and thorough contemplation.» «Konvolut» is an absorbing exhibition – its fascination with being and not being is gripping and keeps one thinking for a long time. Top of page «Basler Zeitung» 12th February 2004 Marion Benz Cream-coloured New works by Daniel Lahaii at the «Galerie Daeppen» «Many people stopped, started discussions and had a laugh. Some even asked themselves if this was going to turn into a junk dealer’s shop», Daniel Lahaii recounts. Already the erection of his new installation he calls «Konvolut» attracted so much attention that it was simply great to work on it, he said. Within the time of five days he was heaping up antiquarian objects in the corner room of Guillaume Daeppen’s gallery – objects he had been collecting in over twenty years. Every square inch is covered by one of the ivory-coloured curiosities: Next to an old cash register lie yellowed manuals, hairdryers, alarm clocks, baby comforters, thermos bottles, ashtrays and a baby scale. Floor lamps cast a strange light on everything. All objects are from the 1950s. Nevertheless, their design had not been the reason for collecting them, according to the artist from Basel. «It’s their colour I’m interested in», he stresses again and again. For him, the cream-coloured household objects are «a part of Swiss history.» «I used to walk through the flea market every Saturday. I never went home without one or two scales,» says the artist. It all started with these scales. Today, his collection serves him as a «catalyst». Using 3D-software at his computer, he generates monstrous juice-draining machines, liquidizers or other odd objects – their function is entirely left to imagination. The electrical appliances seem perfectly constructed up to the mirror effects on their chrome parts and the transparency of their glass elements. It takes the PC up to 270 hours to render the objects. At a small scale, they look deceivingly real – like advertisement images from a mail-order catalogue. However, the large scale prints Lahaii is at present showing at «Galerie Daeppen» instantly reveal their artificiality. He deliberately refrains from endowing his constructions with patina - «otherwise I could take pictures of originals», explains the artist from Basel. And he just loves to confront the beholder with seemingly familiar objects while actually creating the totally unexpected, as he had already done with his images of fish at the beginning of the 1990s. It is an intriguing interplay between appearance and reality. Top of page