Iron Curtains, Economy of Attention and Metamorphosis

In a village on the March River, where the Iron Curtain ran until 1989, according to local accounts, everyday life was shaped by experiences of the border, yet these often remained invisible. The death strip on the opposite side of the river, the quiet knowledge of those who were shot and of attempted escapes, disappeared behind the riverbank and, more often than not, into collective silence. What remained visible was an idyllic village life, tended gardens, and a desire for undisturbed stability. 

Emerging from this tension, a long-term photographic observation was developed: eight rose plants were documented over the course of a year at irregular intervals and arranged diagrammatically using a grid. This subjective form of documentation is based on the thesis that when the viewer notices major changes in an object, a visual stimulus is created that invites closer observation. It is a mechanism that describes our unplanned dealings and our economy of attention with our surrounding.

The installation revolves around questions of visibility and repression, of political landscape and subjective perception. It engages with an economy of attention that shapes both social and private realities.