BasementArtsProject

It has been nearly a week since I returned from Dortmund. Due to patchy and slow internet connections on the trains I was forced to quit my schedule of blogging via the Studio Journal and read instead, which I have to admit was actually quite nice. Since returning, I was straight back to work at my other job at the Henry Moore Institute, followed by a couple of days off for half-term with the kids on which we went over to Newcastle. It was not quite an art free time as we visited several art spaces such as Newbridge Project, The Laing Gallery and the Baltic. What it does mean, is that I am only just sitting down to piece together the bits of writing that I amassed on the last day.

Sunday 24th October AM

At the studio in which I have spent the last four days, I pack up my things for the final time and prepare to head for the Torhaus. Today is the opening of the exhibition ‘Meine Welt Auf Corona’ and as soon as it is done I have to head back to the station so that I can catch my train home. It has been a great experience spending time with my hosts with the most, Sylvia and Ralf, and the Austrian artists Maria Hanl and Christiana Spatz. Together we have toured art venues such as the Kunstlerhaus and the Dortmunder Kunstverein, prepared food and eaten together and taken part in the final stages of the exhibition at Torhaus that Silvia has been planning for the last year or so.

At the Torhaus it is a bright and sunny autumnal morning. The Botanical Gardens, in which our venue is situated, is apparently the place to be as it is full of families, dog walkers, pensioners and individuals just enjoying the beautiful environment of Romberg Park. As it reaches 11am the venue starts to fill up, and by the time the speeches happen at about 11:30 it is really quite busy. The venue is open throughout the day, and so, even after I and all of the other artists here have begun our individual journeys back home, the place will remain open until 6pm. It promises to be quite a busy exhibition as people seem to be in the habit of visiting the Torhaus to see what exhibition is on as part of their visit to Romberg Park, and apparently the gardens do get very busy at the weekends.

This is an incredibly contemporary exhibition for such an old venue and yet it suits it perfectly. The work looks at many different aspects of life over the last two years and how the virus has affected us as individuals and collectively. It is a tale told from multiple perspectives, from people in at least three different countries and in as many languages.

For the likes of Stephanie Brych, Christiana Spatt and Maria Hanl this appeared to be journeys to the interior of the mind with art based around repetitive actions and unwitting acts of rebellion against a regulated landscape, or in the case of Martin Brandt and Silvia Liebig, a wider examination of social and political attitudes in the moment

It took me a long time, for many reasons, to take the final step and agree to be a part of this exhibition, partly, as I mentioned in the first part of this travelogue, because I had to get over my fear of travelling alone, something that I had never done before. But also on my mind where several other factors contributing to my state of mind and conscience. Firstly, I had not had Covid. Although I had been fully vaccinated, I was aware that it is still possible to catch it and pass it on. With the different success rates in terms of vaccination around the world I was dubious about the idea of travelling from a country where infections are out of control, to one in which it isn’t but the vaccination rate is slower. Would I be putting people in danger? I also had a slight fear of the idea of travelling in the pressurised cabin of a plane. An abiding memory of my last project abroad in Jamestown USA in 2014, was of the resultant chest infection that lasted for a year, and the scarring on my lungs that was painful for another whole year afterwards.

I had already started making the film that would eventually become part of ‘Meine Welt Auf Corona’ but, three weeks before I was due to go, I contracted Covid. For me, this was the green light. With the likeliness of being able to catch it again within ninety days being ‘allegedly’ very slim, this was my chance. After three days in bed feeling ill I was presented with another seven days of isolation. This meant that I would have to work quite quickly towards the end in order to make it happen. I decided that I would try and do the whole journey by train, not just to further reduce the potential for infection from the pressurised cabin of the aeroplane, but also as an experiment in green(er) transport.

Sunday 24th October PM

I am back on the train, a French Thalys train on its way to Paris. I am going as far as Bruxelles, no stopping in Köln this time. Instead I arrive in Belgium and have enough time to stop for a slice of pizza and a juice in a rather fancy place just outside of the station.

Before long I am back on the Eurostar barreling back down the track to London. The internet has been cutting in and out all afternoon/evening so I have been reduced to note making and reading with the promise to myself that I will finish when I get home. My train does not arrive into Leeds until just after 1am on Monday 25th October.

I hope that the posts of the last few days have been entertaining and informative, and revealed something of what it is like to work on a project like this.

I feel extremely grateful to have had the experience and would like to thank Silvia Liebig, the organiser, curator and contributing artist in the exhibition, and also Ralf Wasserman who acted as hosts, giving me a wonderful place to stay and a warm reception.

Thanx also to the other contributors to the exhibition Martin Brandt, Stephanie Brych, Maria Hanl, Maren Kames, Silvia Liebig and Christiana Spatt. Christiana and Maria, it was great to be able to hang out with you whilst we were there.

Also thanks go to Martin Brandt, Ralf Wasserman, Rudolf Preuss, Volker Kreiger, Christian Ihrig and Hendrick Müller for their technical expertise, to Claudia Eberbach and Sophie Schmidt of Dortmund City Council, and to Klaus Lenser for the radio interview.

On Behalf of BasementArtsProject I would like to thank all of those who have contributed to the Lockdown Journal that was the focus of our contribution to this exhibition:

Keith Ackerman, Adekola, Art Couple, Lina Bentley, Beyond Photography, Michael Borkowsky, Obie Butcher, Kimbal Quist Bumstead, C Nick, Clare Charnley, Donna Coleman, CuratorSpace, Deborah Davies (Roseytints), Dwell Time, Alan Dunn, Paul Digby, Howard Eaglestone, Pippa Eason, Timothy Forster, Chuck Hamilton, Chloe Harris, Lou Hazelwood, Phill Hopkins, Khansa Khadim, Sohail Khan, Silvia Liebig, Raksha Patel, Ian Pepper, Scott Christian Senogles, Richard Taylor, Mark Staniforth, Rebecca Wade, Nicholas Vaughan, Yol

There will be a project page up in the next few days on the BasementOverground part of the site. When the exhibition is. coming to an end I shall upload the film to the page. I shall also put all of the links to radio interviews and the 3d virtual tour of the gallery

Lockdown Journal: Dortmund Edition [Travelogue 05]

For invitations to our Exhibitions and Events

BasementArtsProject
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Beeston, Leeds, LS11 5JH