Die Wende
Ingrid Hora
February 25 – April 17, 2010
installation photos by Elsa Thorp
Die Wende ("The Turn" in German) is the story of a group of women from former East Germany who are training to perform a particular movement in synchronized swimming, called "die Wende," in which the swimmer makes an underwater backwards loop. The women, most of them over 60, are part of a still active East German association (Verein) and have been training together for over 20 years now.
Die Wende also refers to the period of time immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall. "The Turn" marks the complete process of the change from socialism and planned economy to democracy and capitalism.
After a first theatrical performance that took place in November 2009, Ingrid Hora returns to PROGRAM and transforms the gallery space into a gym-like interior comprised of different artifacts intended for dry training. Over the course of the show in February 2010 the group will meet here once a week for some dry synchronized swimming lessons. A video recorded during their practice sessions in water will also be on view during the exhibition.
Ingrid Hora (Italy, 1976) works and lives in London/Berlin. Through her works, Hora narrates the life of a disordered (or hyper ordered) society. People build walls around themselves to create order and borders. Hora shows what happens behind these walls, where obsessions, desires and fantasies hide. Some of the works resemble pieces of furniture, although their definitions don't quite exist yet; they seem to support behaviours rather than bodies. Lately her work has evolved around Functional Escape, a term she came up with to describe the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially through a special activity, purpose, or task. The objects carry stories of loneliness and hope, the urge to hide and the desire to reach out. Ingrid Hora was a fellow of Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, Akiyoshidai Interantional Art Village in Japan, Casino Luxembourg and will be an artist in residency at Khoj in Delhi this winter. Hora’s work is exhibited and published internationally. She has taught at the Royal College of Art, Architectural Association and London Met. [www.ingridhora.com]
credits
video production: Daniel Salomon (camera), Helene Sommer (editing), Andrew Hamilton (music)
Schwimmgymnastikgruppe des SG Treptow 93: Dames Johanna (1949), Bartels Hilde (1935), Fendel Heike (1943), Lohse Elly (1937), Sperling Susanne (1944), Scheel Edeltraud (1936), Weinhold Anne (1935), Wenzel Inge (1938), Vogelsang Christel (1943)
Special thanks to Kari Rittenbach
Supported by the Amt für Kultur, Autonome Provinz Bozen Südtirol
