T.W.B.T.C in Berlin

 To Whom Belongs The City | A Chi Appartiene La Città
Wem gehört die Stadt 

Video, 30 minutes, colour with audio, 2011; 16-channel-video-installation, colour with audio, approx. 480 min. (total), 2012

 Synopsis 

The video «T.W.B.T.C» is part of a video installation shown at Berlin based art & project space «alpha nova kulturwerkstatt & galerie futura», April 28 to June 6 2012 [ exhibition details ].

The 30 minutes video T.W.B.T.C (To whom belongs the city) condenses twenty-five recorded encounters with women of different ages in seven European cities (over a four years periode 2006–2010). The conversations expose the cultural and social background of the protagonists’s own praxis and daily routine. The interview partners chose a meeting point in their respective city, description of place and meaning gave the opening for the recordings.

The video develops a discursive contribution, which highlights the sights of the (female) interviewed on the (global) city and society, hence a living environment related to all its possibilities and restrictions. These personal statements outline a multifaceted view of the cities.

Where does the postulates of the emancipatory movement in the 21st century stand? Is being a Feminist still an imperative? Or are there demands of a different challenge of solidarity, that can outreach social- and cultural borders, when the plain image of civil society are under pressure and steadily scrutinized?
by Erik Dettwiler

 Berlin exhibition 

Opening: Friday 27.04.2012 – 6:30 PM
28.04.–06.06.12 | Wed–Sat 4–7 pm | Am Flutgraben 3, 12435 Berlin
alpha nova kulturwerkstatt & galerie futura [ map ]

Artist talk: Saturday 19.05.2012 – 2:30 PM
«2nd Month of Performance Art Berlin» | Am Flutgraben 3, 12435 Berlin
Flutgraben e. V. and alpha nova kulturwerkstatt & galerie futura [ map ]

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Embedded video, pict and txt all by [ dewil.ch ], cc 2012

T.W.B.T.C

 To Whom Belongs The City | A Chi Appartiene La Città 
 Wem gehört die Stadt 

Video, 30 minutes, colour with audio, 2011; 25-channel-video-installation, colour with audio, approx. 600 min. (total), 2011

 Synopsis 

The video «T.W.B.T.C» is part of a video installation shown at the Basel art and project space KASKO, March 5–20, 2011 [ KASKO ].

The 30 minutes video «T.W.B.T.C» is concentrating a collection of the twenty-five video interviews. The video conversations were recorded over a four years periode (2006–2010). The setting takes place in a backdrop of seven living environments, job locations and metropolis, involving the following venues: South-, Southeast and Central European cities like Rome, Bucharest, Berlin, Basel, Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich.

Are there any meeting points? How distinguishable are these metropolis in a Europe of ‘common’ boundaries?

The focus of the video work are twenty-five encounters with women. All dealing with cultural background, out of their own praxis intriguing daily routine and surroundings emerge. The interview partners chose a meeting point in their respectively city. The description of place and meaning gave the opening for the recordings. These highly personal statements outlined a multifaceted view of the cities.

The video wants to develop a discursive contribution, which should highlight the sights of the (female) interviewed on the (global) city and society—hence a living environment related to all its possibilities and restrictions.

Where does the postulates of the emancipatory movement in the 21st century stand? Is being a Feminist still an imperative? Or are there demands of a different challenge of solidarity, that can outreach social- and cultural borders, when the plain image of civil society are under pressure and steadily scrutinized? There are always people with migration background living in cities and yet still they are often denied to claim for their civil rights.
by Erik Dettwiler

Opening: Friday 4.03.2011 – 7 PM
6.03.–20.03.11 | Thu–Su 4–8 pm | CH-4058 Basel
[ Kasko ] Projektraum für aktuelle Kunst und Performance
Opening: Thursday 10.03.2011 – 6 PM
10.03.–15.03.11 | CH-Biel/Bienne
[ Lokal-int ] Raum für zeitgenössische Kunst

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Video stills, video trailer and txt all by [ dewil.ch ], cc 2011
 

2nd Skin or 2nd Level (Esplanade)

Regionale 9 — Ausstellungsraum Klingental in Kunsthalle Basel
Mixed media installation «2nd Skin or 2nd Level (Esplanade)»

Bright and early—well it wasn’t quite rising with the sun—the moon was
still on duty.

 

Bright and early, Berlin

 

Anyway I had to got up far too early, for catching the first flight to Basel
on that very morning.
It was a calm flight over a beautiful winterly and waking up German
landscape.

 

Beneath: Black Forest

 

After buying some wooden laths in Basel, finally I arrived at the spot. Ready to build my installation for the «Regionale 9» show in Kunsthalle Basel.

This year I was one—along with another 400 artist colleagues you can imagine—who were given an opportunity to show their work in the famously known Kunsthalle Basel …

 

Concept team Martin, Edit & Caroline from «Ausstellungsraum Klingental» are discussing the setting to show 400 artists in one exhibition on two floors!

 

All afternoon I was occupied by assembeling my mixed media installation
«2nd Skin or 2nd Level (Esplanade)». It was quite tricky (as always), I can tell you …

 

2nd Skin or 2nd Level (Esplanade), montage

 

Heidy and Andreas from [ Video4 ] (Zurich) gave me hand with their know-ledge of video technics. And they helped me out with a little screen to show my video work, what is part of the installation.

 

«2nd Skin or 2nd Level (Esplanade)» video extract of total 9’50

 

On the 2nd day of installation I was busy with finishing some details and
connecting the video screen to the electricity.

The installation basicaly is made up with wooden laths and has a form of a bill-board-man. Mirroring letters are shaping the words: «SVEGLIATEVI—CONVERTITEVI—DIVERTITEVI» (which is saying «wake up, convert you, amuse you). I found these sentences as propaganda on some bill-boards casually spread over the periphery of Rome.

 

2nd Skin or 2nd Level (Esplanade), installation view

 

Closer up …

 

«2nd Skin or 2nd Level (Esplanade)», installation detail

 

… curious for artist list, well, check this out …

 

Click on image to download artist list

 

Esplanada City Center is the name of a future multifunctional city center in Bucharest situated on the Unirii Boulevard not far from the Palace of the Parliament. Esplanada will provide shopping, living, working and leisure functions integrated into a mixed-use urban community. [ Wikipedia ]

Video technics, Zurich [ Video4 ]

Ausstellungsraum Klingental, Basel [ web site ]

Regionale 9 [ web site ]