In this video, presented collaboratively with Deichtorhallen Hamburg on the occassion of their group exhibition ‘Survival in the 21st Century,’ Paul Kolling invites viewers into his Berlin studio. The artist discusses ‘Westbound – 190621’ (2020), his large-scale work presented in the group show. It consists of five illuminated panels in which a series of images collected on 35mm film shows 9,840 kilometers of train tracks between the cities of Zhengzhou and Hamburg. While it originally aimed to highlight the geopolitical fantasy of the new Silk Road, its presentation at Deichtorhallen also focuses on the genocidal persecution of the Uyghur Muslim minority in China. The camps were unintentionally captured in Kolling’s footage and were later re-contextualized following the research findings of Alison Killing. Developed by Georg Diez and Nicolaus Schafhausen in close cooperation with Deichtorhallen, ‘Survival in the 21st Century’ explores the foundations of life in the age of polycrisis through works by 37 artists and artist groups. The exhibition is on view until November 5, 2024.
Video by MONA productions │ Produced by Anna Russ │ Filmed and Edited by Frank Zerban
