These two collages were created for a group exhibition, The Architecture of Travel, presented by the Bauhaus University in the Weimar Hauptbahnhof, Weimar, Germany. This exhibition by a group of international artists was created out of a two week intensive research and exploration of the German train network, the Deuchesbhan, in the region of Thuringia.
Trains modernized our conception and experience of time and space. The Trains Run on Time explores the collapsing of spatial and temporal boundaries through the infrastructure of the railways. The function of a map is to show where one is in space; train timetables orient in time. The present is an ever-shifting target, with past and future eroding its edges. The collage of maps and rails are an interpretation of this space-time lensing and invite passengers to locate themselves within them.
Unterwegs. по дороге. Καθ‘ οδόν. قيرطلاع .Onderweg. 途中. по дорозі. Pe drum. En route. To be on a journey, moving through space from one point to another. To be a passenger on a train, means to become part of a moment of intimacy in a public space, on a large mechanical vehicle that moves through the panorama of nature. Whether it is the landscape painted in the sky, the hypnotising tracks or the eyes of another that catches your eye, one cannot deny the kinship experienced when moving at a high speed through space together. During a two week intensive course, 6 artists came together to research and analyse everyday train travel, and work together on projects that question, redefine and deconstruct the experience.
Curated by Natalia Irina Roman
Artists: Eleni Koukou, Sophie Kwan, Vesper MacKenzie, Dorothy Melander-Dayton, Anna Novak, and Merel Van Altena
Exhibition text by Merel Van Altena
Additional works in this image by Eleni Koukou and Vesper MacKenzie
In addition to the works presented in the tunnel of the station, there were four collaborative pieces displayed on the platforms above. Each artist documented their travel to Weimar in their own way. This documentation was then presented overlaying the schematic of the tracks of the station, creating a dynamic presentation of internal musings on the nature of travel and journeys.
works featured in this image include Dorothy Melander-Dayton, Merel Van Altena, and Sophie Kwan.