spoken words

Tell me how many languages you speak, and I'll tell you how many people you are"

Armenian proverb. Told to me by a friend that I met in Italy when I used to live there, remembered now because I'm back. Immersed in Italian after the bubble of English that was the Transit Lounge Berlin (a result of my embarrassingly poor German) I've been thinking a lot about the way in which languages change and evolve and the different possibilities for expression - and the concepts that are impossible to express. In the last week I've moved from the place I used to live in the north, where the language keeps traces of the Napoleonic invasion of Europe, turning its grammar back to front to match the French, to Sicily where half my family is from, and where 500 years of Arab invasion have given us sounds that don't exist on the peninsula.

The words that languages miss say a lot about the culture that speaks it. There is no word for privacy in Italian. Slowly, without much conviction, and a degree of amusement, people are beginning to adopt the English word for this most Anglo-Saxon / northern European of concepts. And these thoughts remind me of why I like German, and Chinese, the sticking together of smaller parts (whether characters or words) to express new thoughts. The precision and expression that comes from that. Kathrin - you mentioned longing in your last post Tibetu that is since buried in the blog - I love that one of the German words is the same as addiction. Its so much stronger than the English.

Na?

1:1 & finissage

1:1

1:20, little babylons exhibition (23.05.07)

the photograph is guilty of many miss-deeds, lies and fabrications. as our culture increasingly visualizes, pictures pimp every product imaginable from bikinis to beach houses.

But, the medium is innocent, it is our implicit assumption that the photograph is ‘real’ that leads us astray.

the 1:20 project originated as an open investigation of the possibilities of collaboration between an architect and photographer/artist. a collaboration that attempts to re-frame the typical, linear relationship of

architect > photographer : object > documentation.

into a true collaborative process of:

architect <> photographer: artifice <> real(site)

using each of the collaborator’s familiar techniques; digital and physical model making, image production and manipulation, in unfamiliar ways to establish hybrid methodologies.

the transit lounge gallery was taken as the site of experimentation – the ‘transience’ of the project being the temporary occupation of, focus on and transformation of the ‘site’.

the site was photographically recorded at a variety of scales, physically modeled, transformed via installations and alterations to the model. re-photographed and presented within the site (gallery).

the re-presentation of the ‘artificial’ images of the ‘real’ space, within the real space destabilizes the conventional ‘reality’ of the photograph and in particular the architectural photograph.

Ben Milbourne
Tanja Kimme
Kristina Matovic
Benjamin Ducroz
Michael Prior


Extending their experiments into new ways of collaboration between photographers and architects, Ben Milbourne and Tanja Kimme are joined by Kristina Matovic, Benjamin Ducroz and Michael Prior, distorting our perception of space and time within the Transit Lounge, through photographic layering and video feedback.

finissage - transit lounge 07

Do. 07.06.2007 19 Uhr

After 4 months in Berlin, the Transit Lounge is having its final show on Thursday 7th June. Come join us for the final show, 1:1 + a review of all of the work created by the (not so) transient Australian and European residents.
Music by Michael Prior following the show.

--
transit lounge
Josetti Höfe
Rungestr.22-24
10179 Berlin-Mitte

entry via riverside path

PLATTENBAU ELEPHANTS

One of many video artefacts collected by Kenzee Patterson while exploring the centres and extremities of Berlin. This group of lazy elephants was found grazing in front of Plattenbau in the far East of the city, towards Marzhan. The videos uncover particular, unique and often absurd moments in the daily life of the city.





Shown in the (inaccessable) basement of the Josetti Hofe as part of the UNDERSCORE exhibition in conjunction with sound piece by Jodi Rose + Isabelle Cordeiro.

"For UNDERSCORE, the artists worked collaboratively and individually on a series of new works reflecting on their experiences of Berlin...The resulting sound, installation, and video works explore marginalised spaces and discarded objects...The underscore serves to underline the spaces in between, the ignored and the unnoticed..."

HERMAN AND THE PUNKS

"Sous les pavés... La plage" by Hugo Moline

A rogue beach pavilion takes to the streets to subvert kapital and urbanism`s unholy alliance of socio-spatial control. But will the people listen? Will anyone come out to play?

HERMAN AT GORLITZER

"Sous les pavés... La plage" by Hugo Moline

A rogue beach pavilion takes to the streets to subvert kapital and urbanism`s unholy alliance of socio-spatial control. But will the people listen? Will anyone come out to play?