Romanticism as a European intellectual movement has found its way into the cultural history of Europe in many different ways. Its emergence coincided with a time of great social upheaval; for the Romantics, an assumed former sense of security was in the process of dissolution. They reacted by retreating into fantastic, unreal or simply Biedermeier worlds. Longing became a central topos, often expressed through the travelling or wandering motif. The basic Romantic constellation is certainly comparable with today’s world: Globalisation and rapid technological development are leading to great uncertainty, familiar value systems seem to be dissolving. In pop culture, this is reflected in a nostalgia for seemingly less complicated decades or in a turn towards fantasy scenarios. The work ‘in memoriam c.d.f.’ picks up on these parallels. In staged images, a fictional character embarks on a journey through contemporary Europe. She is driven by a longing for a different reality. A work by Caspar David Friedrich serves as her compass. Romanticism and the present meet by the sea.
exhibition:
Galerie Emma T. (Berlin)
01.11. – 05.12.2014
time and place:
2004
Germany, Danmark
thanksgiving:
Carola Thielecke for idea and implementation
exhibition dates :
20 print 40×50 framed
various print 15×19
required length of wall: 20-30 metres