Two solo shows
dal 14/2/2009 al 31/3/2009
Segnalato da
14/2/2009
Two solo shows
Skulpturenpark, Berlin
Local clubs and associations conceived by Matthias Einhoff, and Whisper: a park-wide audio installation by Philip Horst. In a vacant lot, a trumpeter plays a melody and a crowd cheers. A tree suddenly whispers in your ear. Two projects symbiotically collide at Skulpturenpark, which give voice to the area's largely underrepresented inhabitants and to the land itself.
In a vacant lot, a trumpeter plays a melody and a crowd cheers. A
tree suddenly whispers in your ear. Two projects symbiotically
collide at Skulpturenpark Berlin_Zentrum, which give voice to the
area’s largely underrepresented inhabitants and to the land itself.
On February 15, we are pleased to invite you to Celebration, an
Olympic-style ceremony for local clubs and associations conceived by
Matthias Einhoff, and Whisper, a park-wide audio installation by
Philip Horst. The projects occur at a critical moment in the site’s
history. One year ago, the artists were invited by the state as
consultants for redeveloping Skulpturenpark’s southern lots. The
state will soon be accepting bids for their redevelopment. Across the
street, construction has already begun on Fellini estates, high-rise
luxury condos, advertised as an enclave of Italian Renaissance on the
park’s central block. Both artists proceed with these seismic shifts
in mind by creating critical and generous strategies, which approach
the vacant lots as an urban stage, intertwining everyday life and
public opinion with the land, its owners and a market driven future.
Matthias Einhoff’s Celebration, a public ceremony dedicated to
Berlin’s marginalized clubs and community groups, will kick off at
2:00 PM. Einhoff has invited various organizations including a garden
community, dog association, BMX club, artists collective, and a group
of urban farmers. Each has been asked to design a flag, pick a song,
and provide an image emblematic of their respective group. One-by-
one, the flags will be hoisted as a trumpeter plays the club’s song.
The fanfare will unfold, captured on cameras and enhanced by a high-
powered wind-machine directed at the flags. Swept up in
choreographies resembling an Olympic ceremony or Moon landing, the
associations’ alternative activities stand in absurd contrast to the
interests of mainstream media and concerns of urban developers.
Celebration, situated on the Stallschreiberblock, the state-owned
collection of lots, recognizes the clubs’ need and creative use of
open and vacant space. For the duration of the exhibition,
Celebration creates a temporary space dedicated to their activities.
In his project, Whisper, Philip Horst has collected various stories,
advertisements and quotes related to the land of Skulpturenpark from
local residents, neighborhood interest groups, municipal authorities,
investors and realtors, former Kreuzberg squatters and Skulpturenpark
itself. This collection is broadcasted through speakers installed
around the park. Despite countless plans for investment and renewal,
the only significant changes to the site, since then, have been those
brought upon by natural processes and pedestrian use (i.e. plant
growth, trees, paths, BBQ pits, and so on). In Whisper, the
juxtaposition of quotes and various perspectives dramatizes the
politicization of this wasteland, the disconnect between local
residents and investor fancy, the idealism of urban development,
along with poetic testaments of neighborhood and the romanticization
of the place. People are invited to contribute their own story by
calling: +49 30 60980443. The messages will be added to the broadcast
periodically throughout the exhibition.
Matthias Einhoff (*1972, Germany) and Philip Horst (*1972, Germany)
reside in Berlin. They are founding members of Skulpturenpark
Berlin_Zentrum.
Press contact:
Susanne Schroeder tel +49 30 25931944 e-mail press@skulpturenpark.org
Opening: Sunday, February 15, 2008 at 2 PM
Skulpturenpark
Neue Grunstr. 20 - Berlin