After The Blinds
Question: How can the past be used to renovate an empty shell full of memories and bridge the gap between continuity and innovation?
It is 2013 when his phone rings and he gets permission to enter the Robert Koch Forum. At the time, the building was almost empty, and most of the windows were covered with black foil, making nearly every room completely dark. The property had been sold and renovation work was due to start any moment.
As the first photographer to be granted access to the premises, Wenger's series of photographs caught the public's eye and were exhibited at the German Technical Museum in Berlin a few years later. Impressed by the imposing 1883 building, he kept up to date with the renovation work and tried again and again to get inside to document the current state of affairs. Without success.
The years went by, the walls crumbled, successive owners were frightened by the enormous amount of work that needed to be done, and the Corona virus put the brakes on. And suddenly we are in 2022, almost 10 years after the first series of photographs, when Wenger is allowed to continue his work and take new photographs.
Searching for traces of the past, this ongoing series spans the entire duration of the renovation, when the foil and blinds have long since been stripped away. Like a snake shedding its skin, the premises struggle to free themselves from their old envelope. Let's keep quiet and witness it all.
Fine Art Photography | Abandoned laboratory | Lost Places | Architectural Photography | Urban Exploring
