Spotkanie na granicy ⁄ Treffen an der Grenze
Spotkanie na granicy ⁄ Treffen an der Grenze / Meeting at the border, 08.06.2020
Video, 1:13, loop; in the frame of 'de-re-konstrukt', collaborative projekt by Simone Rueß, Krzysztof Franaszek
When the pandemic started, the Warsaw–Berlin train could no longer cross the border. The disrupted connection became the theme of the artists’ action Meeting at the Border of 8 June 2020. At the Frankfurt–Słubice border crossing on the bridge across the Oder, Simone Rueß was stopped 50 meters before the checkpoint, where Krzysztof Franaszek stood waiting. Separated by only a few meters of space, the friends could not talk to each other directly. They approached passers-by to carry their drawings and notes across the border. The border guards asked Rueß after 30 minutes to leave the border area. Franaszek was requested to step back, as well. For another two hours, the artists exchanged notes across the bridge with the assistance of random mail carriers. Thanks to their experience, the artists understood the difficult situation of the inhabitants of Słubice and Frankfurt (Oder) when the possibility of cooperation and communication was interrupted.