Win-Win-Situation [2022]
Collected material and sketchy arrangements from observations during the Wolang? Residency [in an old casino building in the city centre] in Altenburg, Thuringia [DE]. The town is known for its historic playing card industry and for its rich tradition in printmaking, especially woodcuts and engravings, dating back to the Renaissance. A contemporary example is the DZA [Druckerei zu Altenburg], which has played a central role in printed art projects for decades.
Leitz Binder, Playing Cards and Printed Images. 35x35x8cm
The photographs come from many trips [of the artist who grew up in former Westgermany] around the city and the hinterlands. These landscapes around Altenburg are charged with sites of landmark events in German history, but nevertheless rather muted. The playing cards on the surface originate from discarded special editions commissioned by companies like IBM from local playing card printers.
After the end of the GDR, Thuringia, like many other regions in eastern Germany, saw the rise of the rave scene, particularly in repurposed industrial buildings. These abandoned or underused spaces became popular venues for underground electronic music events, including techno and trance parties. The post-reunification period brought a cultural shift, and these spaces provided a platform for expression and communal gathering, reflecting the spirit of freedom and experimentation of the time. DZA provided vintage printed material for the residency, including posters for legendary clubs such as Berlin's Tresor. This cultural legacy was particularly interesting in connection with several anecdotes dealing with the young people who were interested in the open space of the casino. Right at the beginning of the residency organisers' project, they posted on the internet that they were inviting everyone to a rave in the casino, which put the Wolang? group on alert, as they thought the young people had taken direct advantage of the generous offer to use the space in the evenings without letting them know. However, when they entered the premises, they only found a group of three people listening to techno music on a mobile phone in the tiny former cigar parlour of the casino. Altenburg is a municipality that many young people leave when they grow up – the region suffers from structural imbalances – so it is rather unlikely to see a big party organised at short notice. The term rave was used in this case with a totally different interpretation.
Graphite on Transparent Paper and Archive Prints. 59,5x84,1cm
There is a company specialised in detectors whose golden reflecting headquarters in the shape of a pyramid can be recognised from afar when the sun's rays shine in the right angle, which is very successful with its products. It sells the high-tech equipment mostly to amateur treasure hunters, but in a phone call an employee casually remarked that militaries in the Middle East have already taken an interest in the ability of the company’s georadar to scan deep into the ground.
Original Product Brochures and Newspaper, Framed Inkjet Print on Paper and Highres-Print on Paper. Dimensions variable