Harte Zeiten – Ciężkie Czasy
Simone Rueß (2021). de-re-konstrukt – "Lass uns von vorne beginnen...", pp. 98-107
Simone Rueß (2021). de-re-konstrukt – "Lass uns von vorne beginnen...", pp. 98-107
During the seminar week, the given situation of studying at
at home becomes the topic: each student in their own analog
space - all of us together in a shared virtual space. With
paper and cardboard we approach the spatial characteristics of the
personal environment. In exercises we capture the space,
which the webcam transmits digitally. By means of interactions
we experience the virtual space as a shared space. Real
distances and tangible encounters are collected in a common
action from the most diverse locations in Germany.
We juxtapose analog environment casts in plaster with
digital photos on the digital MiroBoard. We reflect in mind maps the interplay of 35 analog spaces and the shared digital space.The analog/digital interface
becomes the theme of the final project.
On the constructed 23-metre-long footbridge in the garden of Gallery Le Guern, visitors actively contribute to a connection across physical distance through their participation on 4 September 2021. Built from material from Warsaw and Berlin, the bridge is the starting point of the happening. The Varsavian artist Krzysztof Franaszek is present on site in the gallery garden, while Berlin artist Simone Rueß is present on the bridge digitally on a screen. Visitors can follow how the two artists meet again virtually, and they can also talk live with the Berlin artist. The installation invites visitors to share their current (border) experiences during the pandemic. The happening makes the transnational relationship tangible and evokes memories of territorially specific border cases. The action relates digital and physical proximity to each other. Differences in distances are experienced, spatial approaches are tested and digital and analogue presence are negotiated with each other.
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.
W roku 2018 Simone Rueß przeprowadziła blisko 60 rozmów narracyjnych z osobami z Włoch, Holandii, Belgii, Izraela, Niemiec, Polski, Tajlandii i innych krajów. Po rozmowie artystka wizualizuje za pomocą rysunku wyobrażenia domu swoich rozmówców. W roku 2020 Simone Rueß skonfrontowała te wypowiedzi z doświadczeniem pandemii, dokumentując jak zmienia się postrzeganie przestrzeni domowej w izolacji na całym świecie (tekst: Marta Gendera)
2018, Adele Giacoia related the city Rome with the meaning of home and described it as a large, open labyrinth structure of books that you can walk through. 2020, the same city, Rome, was still connected with the meaning of „home“, but now Adele Giacoia created a mental image of a DNA-like structure, where you could only walk through mentally with the help of your memory.
Inhabit 2018/2020: During my residency and exhibition at the Triennale di Milano, 2018, I collected, in the form of narrative interviews, over 60 mental images of home, from people from Europe, Taiwan, Israel, etc. During the pandemic lockdown 2020, for many people, the home became the home office. Professional and private activities took all place in the same place. I met my interviewees of 2018 again, this time virtually, and I asked for their current mental image of home in times of pandemic lockdown. Transformed into drawings, the contrasts between the ideas of home from 2018 and 2020 are presented on posters at bus stops during the festival in public space "Adaptacje" in Gorzów Wielkopolskie, 2021.
