Normalverteiler
wood, hdf boards, sound, door viewers
6m x 2,20m x 3m
2022
collective work by: Philipp Baumann, Philippe Derlien, Konstantin Holle, Flora Weber & Jella Jess
realised in the exhibition: Down The Rabbit Hole, Kunst im Tunnel Düsseldorf, 2022
The wooden structure, opaque from the outside and reminiscent of a changing room or a public toilet due to the gap between the floor and the wooden panelling, conceals the interior and arouses curiosity. If visitors venture a peek behind the closed door, they are met with a series of consecutive rooms, divided by sliding doors. Visitors decide for themselves which path to take through the installation. In this seemingly shielded environment, a sense of privacy and intimacy arises, which is disrupted on several levels. For instance, a hidden microphone at the entrance to the installation records all sounds – the friction of the door against the ceiling or possible conversations among those present – and plays them back with a delay via a speaker placed at the exit. Furthermore, there are several peepholes in the doors and walls that allow a view outwards, into another room. These initially disconcerting moments demonstrate a playful engagement with the boundary between private and public and simultaneously serve as a means of connecting and extending the space. The architectural structure of the installation refers to the core of binary thinking – either/or, A or B – and demands decisions that ultimately lead to the same result. The name of the collective 273,75_collect.temp, comprising Philipp Baumann, Philippe Derlien, Konstantin Holle, Jella Jess and Flora Weber, also alludes to computer-based processes. “temp” is a file extension for temporary but executable files. The collective also embraces this role: the participants have come together temporarily—more precisely, for 273.75 days—to work and act together within the framework of the exhibition “Down The Rabbit Hole”.
Hannah Niemeier