Installations

The Paradise Apple (2008)

Installations videos and performances, Lutheran Church, Cologne (Lutherkirche, Köln Südstadt), October 19th – November 9th 2008.

In my solo exhibition at the Lutheran Church in Cologne, I explored the particular intersection between art and (Christian) religion in relation to the meaning and purpose of symbols. Humans have always been very successful in directing thoughts and behaviours of others through the use of symbols and signs, as we react almost intuitively to these non-verbal, suggestive means of communication.

Works (see next page)
The apple is an ancient symbol of the earth in all cultures; a symbol of love, fertility, the female principle and life. An old legend, which continuously appears throughout different cultures, tells the tale of the paradise tree whose fruits should give immortality. In the history of human creation the apple is not mentioned – the bible does not name the fruit of the tree of cognition.
Fertility and love do not solely serve the purposes of reproduction and preservation of the human species. They have deeper psycho-social meanings just as the meaning of a family gives one the feeling of belonging to someone or something. Nevertheless, we are moving further away from these original, natural instincts. In that context, I refer to the term cognition.

Fragment (1997)

My works address my interest in the position of the spectator, in relation to myself and to my artwork. An early example of this exploration is my audio installation titled Hörspiel grün (green radio-play) (1994). I put the spectator on a one-man stage, confined in a narrow space where he listens to a track consisting of a short, fragmented story, noises and music about contradictory situations like moving and standing still, or being a foreigner and a native. The spectator's processing of, and reactions to, these contradictions is the central part of the work.