Corona Art Weeks

art works

01 / 12

Anselm Hirschhäuser

„Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten“ · April 2021 · Munich

I thought the podcast Mr. Drosten did at the beginning of the pandemic was good, because it really went into detail, one wanted to know everything as precisely as possible. So Drosten was a point of orientation for me. That’s why I understand the painting as a small thank-you and I also portrayed Drosten a little heroically. But also with a certain sadness. It’s the sadness that he talked his head off, but politics did not listen to him. Science was denied because economic interests and money always took first priority, unfortunately. I found the quote I wrote on the picture, „Ja, ist gut jetzt“ — It’s OK now — on Twitter. Drosten was responding to a Corona denier and I think it shows the resignation of many scientists. When you research something so intensively like Dr. Drosten and then warn and get invested, but the warnings are not taken seriously because there are people who want to profit from it — that must be frustrating.

Comment

When I first saw the picture by Anselm Hirschhäuser online, it provoked me in a certain way. Such an explicit glorification of Dr. Christian Drosten seemed inappropriate to me — at a time when I have personally tried to avoid too clear a commitment to individual persons and positions. But the reference to the group show Corona Art Weeks was simply too obvious and the aesthetic and artistic quality out of question. So I spoke to Anselm Hirschhäuser and learned that the motivation for the painting was the wish to say thank you. Even though Dr. Drosten is not a particularly important figure for me, I find a thank-you a positive, lovely gesture — one that I can stand behind regardless of any worldview standpoint.

I also find it brave of Anselm Hirschhäuser to take such a clear position. Especially in a context — the internet — in which Dr. Drosten is subject to much criticism, it is courageous to make such an artistic statement. Risky art is far too rare — so for me this painting stands for the courage to make a clear statement and to make oneself vulnerable.

What surprised me was Anselm’s statement that he portrayed Dr. Drosten as somewhat cringing because politics didn’t listen to him. The economy, capitalism rules the world — which is why Dr. Drosten could not get his way with his demands. Until then, I knew the argument the other way round: since capitalism rules, the big companies get billions, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Dr. Drosten is thus becoming an identification figure for either the good side or the bad side. In both cases, however, it is capitalism, the economy, that is identified as the cause of the problems. Dr. Drosten is sometimes capitalism’s henchman, sometimes its victim.

02 / 12

Can Henne

„Euphoros III“ · February 2021 · Berlin

I painted „Euphoros III“ at a time when there were few distractions, everything was closed and the days felt long and quiet. Corona was the overshadowing theme. Many people were afraid. Afraid of the disease or afraid for basic rights, even afraid of a dictatorship. I also felt this sense of threat and insecurity; such feelings are contagious. But I have been dealing with the question of subjective truth for a long time. So I tried to listen even more carefully to myself and asked myself how I actually react to the outside world and what creates my perspective. Because the things that happen outside of us, can control the inside and are ultimately only a trigger to activate already existing sensations. If we are not aware of this, we cannot influence and change anything. But if you understand how these mechanisms work, you understand that you yourself are responsible for how you perceive the world. Then you can change something on the inside and that becomes a reality on the outside. Do I believe in a friendly or vicious universe? If you walk through the world with a certain fear, then you will encounter it everywhere. But it is the same the other way around. This phenomenon was easy to verify in Corona times. The world can seem terrible to us, but also very beautiful. Whatever you expect, you will get, whatever you believe, you are right!

Comment

Among the different moods I found myself in during the lockdown was the dark feeling I see in Can Henne’s painting. In addition to the Berlin winter, there were questions about mental health and the fears that Corona brought with it in January. The range of worries was huge, some understandable, some contradictory and inconsistent — but scary. And feelings are contagious, as Can Henne describes it in the interview. When we talked about the time when Euphoros III was made and the symbols in it, I started to understand the painting as a statement about how reality can be perceived very differently. It is not easy, but it’s possible to find an inner peace — regardless of the external circumstances. From that point of view, the next winter can come.

There is a saying that I thought of, after talking about Euphoros III: Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

It was good timing that Can Henne had just finished the work days before the printing date — it’s now on show for the first time. The artistry and craftsmanship of the 100cm x 80cm oil painting is outstanding and is reproduced on the poster — thanks to the perfect processing at Pinguin Druck — almost original. A gloomy poster with a bright message.

03 / 12

Catherine Mamani Valles

„Hope in rays of hope“ · June 2020 · Berlin

The series was created on a hot summer day at Teufelssee. It was a spontaneous shooting, the first photo project after a long break. I felt quite lost at that time for several reasons. On the one hand, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to travel to India as planned to study and become a yoga teacher. It was a feeling of being powerless that I had never experienced before. In addition, I had dropped out of my studies and had not yet dared to tell my parents. On that June day at the lake, I didn’t yet know what story I wanted to tell. It wasn’t until I put the pictures into a chronology that I realized they were actually telling an optimistic story. The man in the water rises out and thus finds some light. My situation was indeed difficult and quite different from what I had wished for — but I did not drown. And this is how I want to look to the future from now on: more trust and less hope. Hope includes doubting and fear. I am no longer choosing fear, I choose love — and I trust.

Comment

The photographer Catherine Mamani Valles has already exhibited her wonderful photo series at Kaffeemitte — so it was no question that I would ask her if she wanted to show a recent work at CAW21. She had a series ready from last summer that would look great on a poster — and an inspiring origin story to go with it. What I particularly like about Catherine Mamani Valles’ work is her approach of not only taking single images, but putting several images into a chronology, telling a story. Catherine Mamani Valles’ signature are contextualisations, executed with talent and sensibility.

The accompanying text to Hope in rays of hope is positive and reminds me of a good old time. Dropping out of university, getting the first flat of one’s own, disputes with parents and a step towards the decision to make art.

04 / 12

Dared

„Faye“ · March 2021 · Berlin

As I mainly show my art on the street, sticking it on walls, the door to the city has always remained open a little bit. It’s not only in times of Corona that you need freedom — but in that year so many paths were blocked, so much was forbidden. Especially for art and culture, it was a time of locked doors. Luckily, I have the street as my escape. And the fox Faye became my only, fully free contact with the outside world.

Comment

Dared is one of Berlin’s most active paste-up artists, his work can only be found outside on the street — well, usually. This spring, however, Dared set up what was probably the most elaborate installation ever shown at Kaffeemitte. Three meters wide paintings and a van-load of birch trunks turned Kaffeemitte into a forest where Dared’s character Faye was at home. The exhibition was a debut for Kaffeemitte and for Dared an experiment with a new way of showing his art. For the visitors of Kaffeemitte, the exhibition was a small exception in a (cultural) world in lockdown. Since people could pick up food and drinks at Kaffeemitte at any time, Dared’s exhibition was always visible, even through the winter months. When the exhibition was being taken down, I noticed two large wallpapers in Dared’s studio on which I could see the outlines of two foxes. A few days later I saw the two finished works again at RAW / Revalerstrasse and had found the right motif for the poster. The finishing, the colours and the expression of the two Fayes, at this location, with the old brick patina, make the two foxes, for me, perhaps the most beautiful works by Dared overall.

To photograph the paste-ups so that they would work as A1 print, I asked Alex Fuchs if he would climb the ladder with his camera. Alex kindly photographed the two foxes perfectly. After a poll on Instagram, we decided on the left Faye as the poster motif. Dared did the colour correction and Graco Berlin finished the file perfectly for printing.

05 / 12

Dietmar Eckell

„Liquid Acid #840crop3“ · January 2021 · Bangkok

The photo series that I make, are usually taken in remote places. It may be a quiet island in the Pacific, or a remote clearance in a tropical jungle. Sometimes I travel several days to reach a special location. It was therefore challenging when I found out that I had to go into strict quarantine after returning to Bangkok — locked in a room of a state authorized hotel. Luckily I had a room with river view and I spent hours just looking at the change of light and waves on the water. Especially at night the reflections, when colourfully neon-lit boats pass by, are beautiful. Then I ordered a 600mm lens to capture these reflections. The Chao Phraya River is one of the dirtiest rivers in the world, a brown broth during the day. But at night, looking through the tele lens, the always changing lights were really mesmerizing. Soon I started to recognize the sound of the boats and I focused on the perfect waves and reflections. Then I just pulled the trigger and must have taken a few thousand shots from the same position — yet, every picture is different. There is no editing in the images — it’s just the view out of the quarantine window, photographed with 1/80 and high ISO.

Comment

Dietmar Eckell’s trademark are photos of abandoned objects he discovers in the middle of nowhere. To do this, the self-taught photographer travels to the loneliest corners of the world and documents the things that have been forgotten. A new value is created from objects that have been written off: Dietmar’s first book is called accordingly: Restwert — residual value. Downed aircraft, an old Soviet missile or a film set in the Moroccan desert — places where people have left their traces and where nature can slowly reconquer these legacies. To take his photos, Dietmar travels for several days, sometimes with his van, sometimes with boats or small planes. The pictures that emerge are spectacular and the stories behind the objects are exciting.

Therefore, it was a great challenge for Dietmar Eckell when he returned to Bangkok and had to go into a strict quarantine. The authorities guarded the room, there were no exceptions. Dietmar was locked in a small room. And like many others who suddenly had to spend a lot of time with themselves, within their own walls, Dietmar Eckell was also faced with the challenge that such isolation brings. Fortunately, as Dietmar tells it, his hotel room had a river view, so he was looking at a landscape in constant motion. At first, he paid attention to the boats — but soon only to the waves they produced. And so he began to photograph these tiny motifs. Not exciting at first glance, but, if you look closely, endlessly changing and varying. The title of the picture is also telling: it’s the 840th picture, third detail. So one can imagine how many pictures were taken and how Dietmar Eckell spent the days in the lonely hotel room. And even if the abstract water pictures hardly have anything to do with the drone shots and exotic scenarios that are otherwise Dietmar Eckell’s trademark, they do pick up on one of the themes he has always dealt with: the beauty of the ephemeral, which can endure in a photograph.

06 / 12

Loomit

„Demut“ · March 2021 · Munich

Developments that I have been observing with concern for many years have become much clearer through Corona — and they have further intensified. Screen consumption has increased, which makes people even more stupid. This is empirically proven. During last year people spent even more time in the digital world, watched even more Netflix. That consumes resources and energy. These technologies have a string of consequences: rare earth metals that are mined, slave labour, the immense power consumption by the big servers. We know that the planet has problems, but people are addicted to pointing at others instead of changing things in their own life. So we deprive ourselves of the basis of life. Pandemics are just an additional danger for humankind. I see the limits we are reaching, and they are closer than we thought.

But instead of taking care of these vital tasks, everyone wants to have a say. It is laziness and vanity that blinds people. Vanity used to be one of the deadly sins: it’s now a business model. Being a journalist used to be a real profession: we now have influencers everywhere. Just displays all over the place… It is hubris to believe that we can simply solve the problems we have caused. We believe that all we need is a new invention and everything will be okay again. But that won’t work: the damage is enormous. Besides, most people are still not willing to limit themselves. But this is urgent if we want to survive as humankind.

But it is useless to preach. I can only exemplify a different life. I can ride a bike and no longer eat meat, no longer fly. Being an example, that’s the only way. And with art, maybe I can make people think, make a recommendation. Hence the title of this painting: Demut = Humility. Humility to one’s not-knowing. „I know that I know nothing“ — Socrates. That is humility. And I hope for more humility towards the fragility of life — which is now suddenly visible to everyone.

Comment

Back in the 90s, when I was a student in Munich and first discovered the artists around ABC Crew, Loomit was already a legend. No one I knew knew him, but everyone knew — and copied — his 3D styles. My interest in art was triggered. Art that doesn’t hang in museums, art that caused trouble in school, art called „vandalism“ in the news. Young people doing something creative, illegal, intrinsically motivated — art that takes risks. This made a strong impression on me — after all, many representatives of this generation were still stuck somewhere in the materialistic 80s. Graffiti and the emerging hip hop culture was not only fresh and authentic, but it also had an ambition that went beyond Chevignon, BMW and Hollywood. The zeitgeist of hedonism seemed not only outdated but also wrong, in a world full of serious trouble.

A few years later we organized hip hop jams, with live graffiti, auctions and exhibitions. Loomit was there, dedicated and supportive. So I was really pleased when, after many years, I was able to reach Loomit on his old landline number and he agreed almost immediately to include his work DEMUT (= humility) in the group exhibition. But not only because Loomit is a hero of my youth and one of the most important Graffiti artists ever, I was happy to have him on board. The term humility took on an important meaning for me in the course of the Corona year. An appeal for humility seems wise — after all, we live in a time when many problems arise because people are quite sure of themselves. Polarisation keeps us from changing things together, from collaborating on what is essential for our survival: Environmental protection — which can only be addressed with a fundamental change in our economic system based on constant growth.

With DEMUT, Loomit reminds us to not overestimate ourselves as humans and as individuals. I know that I know nothing. With this recommendation and the experience of 30 years of graffiti making, Loomit is still a role model for me today. I admire his 3D styles as well as his concepts, his ethics and his energy to stand up for what is important to him.

07 / 12

Lucille Guder

„Flowershead“ · Mai 2020 · Berlin

I started to paint 1 year ago when the first lockdown hit Berlin. Through my paintings, I could travel to gardens full of flowers and fill my mind with positivity. During the second lockdown, I decided that I wanted to be a full-time artist and I quit my office job. The pandemic helped me realized what I really want to do with my life and what makes me happy. This piece „Flowershead“ has a special place in my heart as it is the first one I painted during the lockdown and the one that made me want to be an artist.

Comment

Lucille Guder was the first artist I asked if she would like to submit her art work to the group show. When I learned that Lucille Guder had only been an artist for one year, one of my hopes was fulfilled: that Corona would initiate a process of change and bring positive results. In the first months of the pandemic, there was talk of good developments all around. Nature recovering, people having time for their families again, couples managing to get out of a deadlocked relationship — or deciding to have kids. Even if these positive expectations have not all been fulfilled, the art of Lucille Guder remains — as a result of a big decision.

Of course, in real life there is no Happy End — the story of the new Lucille Guder, the artist, continues to be told, just as a pandemic cannot find a dramaturgically clean ending. But if you do it like a storyteller and look for a beginning and an end, then you can find an incredibly positive Corona story: Lucille Guder comes from Paris to Berlin to work at one of the many tech start-ups, selling chat-bots for a software company. Employees of these companies are often expected to be fully committed to their workplace. The job becomes a family, long working days, work hard, play hard — doubts about whether it might be a Bullshit Job, according to the definition of David Graeber, shouldn’t arise.

Lucille Guder’s job wasn’t necessarily meaningful, but it meant traveling around the world and having a good income. But when both of these things were called into question by Corona, Lucille Guder began to take another look at life. And she came to the conclusion that it was time for a new start. So she quit her job and did something pretty brave! For me, Lucille Guder’s story is proof that every crisis also holds an opportunity. And it shows once again that Berlin is a city that gives people confidence. Finally, it’s a story about the process of making art — and its life-changing power.

08 / 12

Macarena Cox

„Food“ · June 2021 · Berlin

I chose this picture because it is the description of a perfect meal for me: Ramen, beer and something sweet for dessert. Last year, I spent a lot of time with a friend in an apartment in Berlin. We were both far away from home and to pass the quarantine we played cards and ate. We tried many new dishes and kept improving our cooking skills. When I started drawing as a child, I was influenced by Japanese anime. I watched a lot of manga, like Sailor Moon or Slum Dunk when I was in school in Santiago de Chile. I think they inspired my work as a graphic designer, but also my interest in Japanese food may have come from that. So last winter we made Ramen ourselves and found that it’s easy to make and really delicious. I hope this poster finds a place in a kitchen — as a reminder to indulge in good food, to cook your favorite dish or to treat yourself with a Pie de Limón. It doesn’t take that much to feel at home.

Comment

Although Macarena Cox’s artwork doesn’t have a lot of colours, its colours had the most complicated production process. This is because the colour blue is very demanding. It shows up differently in RGB than it does when converted to CMYK. But I only understood this when I was standing at the printing press and the first samples came out of the machine. To solve this problem at the last minute, the technician put Food last in line that morning. Macarena was just locking her bike outside Pinguin Druck when the technician set up the four press plates with Macarena’s image. The blue was not the blue from the file. This blue is unprintable, the print technician confirmed. Fortunately, the technician and his colleague from @graco_berlin were able to adjust the image right on the offset machine so that Macarena, still a little out of breath, could select a new blue. The feedback on the image tells that it was worth the extra mile!

It is a beautiful print and has a theme that is part of many Corona legends: Cooking at home. Macarena Cox’s work and her story testify to this delicious phenomenon. The Chilean artist who loved Japanese mangas as a girl is years later stuck in a lockdown in Germany. To feel not so far from home, she cooks Japanese noodles. If food means home, then Macarena Cox’s story is a new variation on that theme in a globalized world.

09 / 12

Maily Nguyễn

„Dreaming“ · January 2021 · Berlin

Gregor: Can you describe the time in which this collage was created?

Maily Nguyễn: Last winter, I was at home alone a lot, just by myself. This was due to the Berlin winter, but the lockdown has intensified this situation even more. I felt like traveling all year round, but especially in January. So I looked at travel catalogues because I had wanderlust. Then I found this giant somewhere — a print from another time. It has something nostalgic about it. All in all, it wasn’t necessarily the happiest time in my life. I didn’t feel that way in the moment, but in retrospect, when I look at my work from that time, I see something dark, nostalgic.

Gregor: Do you see anything positive about Corona?

Maily Nguyễn: Yes, I have learned a lot during this time. I see how marginalised groups have raised their voices, people around me have become more politicised. Perhaps we have learned to reflect our own privileges and to be more caring towards our fellow human beings. People of my generation have started to think about how to shape the future, there are many who want to take responsibility now. This movement has gained momentum through the Corona period.

Gregor: And for you personally?

Maily Nguyễn: It was not an easy time, but now with a clear head and a distance, I see that for me some things have changed for the better. Because the lockdown gave me time to try new things. For example, I realized how much I love making collages.

Comment

Artist Maily Nguyễn has already exhibited at Kaffeemitte — at that time she showed only paintings. Her talent and age brought a lot of good feedback and Maily Nguyễn was able to sell her paintings directly from Kaffeemitte to art lovers and collectors. When I saw her collages for the first time this spring, I wanted to know where the material she used to compose the collages came from. And what inspired her to create the new pieces. It was — matching the exhibition theme — parts of travel catalogues and wanderlust. The medium of printed travel catalogues alone is a nostalgic element, I can understand that it can help to engage with them against the feeling of lockdown.

Conversations like the one I had with Maily Nguyễn for the caption accompanying the collage are the reason why the hard work on this show was worth it. Maily Nguyễn’s views and positions are, for me, a window into a different milieu and a different (generation of) artists. Her themes are engaging and thoughtfully argued. And her work ethic is also impressive. Punctual, reliable, productive, detail-loving — inferring from myself to others, I thought youth would still have only nonsense in their heads. Besides, this generation doesn’t seem to like to talk on the phone but is very fast when texting :-) Thank you Maily for your power, your trust and sense of humour!

10 / 12

Martin Krusche

„Another Dimension“ · September 2020 · Berlin

Gregor: When did you paint „Another Dimension“?

Martin Krusche: I painted the picture in September 2020. I had a lot of time for my own work during these months, because I had practically no commissions — it is a picture that I painted freely and without a particular goal in mind. In the mornings I looked after my children, in the afternoons I went to the studio every day.

Gregor: How did you feel at that time, in autumn 2020?

Martin Krusche: I remember helplessness and uncertainty. I had the feeling that I could no longer understand the decisions of the politicians — and the developments in general. I just didn’t understand it anymore. There was too much news and information that I could no longer make sense of. So at a certain point, I tried to switch off. I went along with it all, but I didn’t question things anymore.

Gregor: Is it chaos in your picture?

Martin Krusche: Definitely a certain confusion and different elements that overlap and contradict each other. Yes, maybe it’s chaos.

Comment

Martin Krusche and I first met around 2005 at Boxi flea market. Martin and his partner Toby ran the fashion label Yackfou at the time and sold their shirts and sweaters there. In 2006, we shot a video that can now be considered vintage. Later, in 2019, Martin showed his work in a wonderful solo exhibition at Kaffeemitte. When I was working out the idea for the group show, it was a given that I would ask Martin — not only because he is an old friend and great illustrator, but because I kept randomly meeting him in my neighborhood during the Corona months and we would talk about the aftermath and impressions of the pandemic.

Martin has children and is a freelancer, as is his wife. The situation was not only a mental strain for the family, but also a great logistical challenge. I therefore understood when Martin talked about how he had temporarily stopped following the news. The psychological burden, which was added to the organizational stress, was not reduced but increased by excessive media consumption. I also had this experience and I think I will keep this habit. Reading a book in the morning at breakfast feels so much better than first passing over some bad news. The picture „Another Dimension“ and also the story of its creation tell about this — perhaps — collective experience.

11 / 12

Mein Lieber Prost

„Work From Home“ · May 2020 · Bali

As the pandemic situation got worse and without an end in sight, I decided to make some good use of my money before it was all gone and spent it on spray cans. With these, I started putting my protest on the streets of Bali. Corona had me going through phases: PHASE OF COMPLAINT — PHASE OF GRATITUDE — PESSIMISTIC PHASE — PHASE OF REBIRTH. It’s an ongoing process and it comes in waves, similar to the pandemic itself. „Stay at home“ and „Work from home“ became the mantra, the „new normal“. And I had to ask myself: How can I work from home as a street artist? My job is on the street, how am I supposed to work from home? The streets are the home of my art. So from this perspective, I’ve always worked from home. I’ve always worn a mask while working. And yet, everything has changed. And I went outside and saw people who lost their homes, who lost their jobs. It really got me thinking and in the broad daylight, I took my cans to put the question on the wall: „Which home? What work?“

Comment

Mein Lieber Prost has been one of my favourite artists for years. The first time I have seen MLP’s ingenious adBusting works at Urban Spree Gallery, later I could show prints with his character aka Prostie at Kaffeemitte. In addition, a Prostie (as sweet hustler) sticks at my apartment door and sets the tone in this household. In Corona times I have then seen a work by Mein Lieber Prost which matched perfectly. To the scheduled Corona-related group show, to my current situation and to my sense of humour. In tough times, it’s good to look at things from a funny side. I do have a home, but one where work is always going on. And that was true before Corona. Besides, I feel like many freelance artists: On the one hand, they wouldn’t necessarily call their everyday occupation work, on the other hand, because the search for paid work is a permanent condition — and not a Corona characteristic.

And then Prostie’s last dime falls out of his pocket in the middle of the pandemic! But despite all this, he doesn’t seem particularly distressed or worried. It is as Karl Clauss Dietel describes it in the film Stop Styling when looking at a bowl from the Bronze Age at the Archaeology Museum: Artists are persons who, archetypically, stand outside the normal rhythm, who stand beside society, somewhat apart. With all its dire but also wonderful consequences. A popular hashtag like #workfromhome is almost as inappropriate for Mein Lieber Prost as it is for a Bronze Age potter. Almost.

12 / 12

Zora Jurenkova

„Setty Mois“ · June 2020 · Berlin

In general, I think the masks that people had to put on for the last year are a useful protection against the virus. Nevertheless, they bother me — if only because it’s hard to breathe when you’re wearing them. I photograph people and I miss seeing the faces, the expressions, the communication through looks. But masks also have an aesthetic, erotic quality. They create anonymity and distance — I like this insecurity, this game. A sexy body without a face creates insecurity and tension. That’s why masks are an erotic fetish for some people. This aspect interests me — because eroticism and femininity always play a role in my photography. And as an artist, I let myself be inspired by the things that happen around me. That’s how this motif came about. I wanted to de-dramatize the masks and give people back some optimism, to comment on the subject „Corona masks“ with a little wink. If Corona, then like this!

Comment

Although Zora Jurenkova is at the very end of this list because of her name, she has been with the project from the beginning. When we sat together at Kaffeemitte last winter, we talked about how art can position itself on Corona and its impact. So that afternoon — over a plate of pasta — the idea for a group exhibition with recent works by different artists was born. Zora had told me that she was still working as a photographer, but less than before Corona. The shows she usually takes as settings for her images were cancelled — and Zora’s personal life was also affected. She has a daughter who had to be home-schooled and the many restrictions, contradictions, worries and the collective mood also troubled her — but an unshakable optimism and the talent to improvise are typical for Zora.

So she soon had an idea of how to approach the subject Corona, to draw artistic inspiration from the situation and make a constructive contribution to the debate. The masks, which were an image of the pandemic from the beginning, became an object of decoration, a costume with which Zora staged her models — in this case, the wonderful performer Setty Mois — who, by the way, was stuck in Australia in early 2020 because all flights were cancelled. Eroticism and sensuality are always themes of Zora Jurenkova’s photos, and that’s how the idea of experimenting with face masks came about. The effect is a de-dramatization of the masks and a playful look at this controversial and negatively connoted piece of cloth.

I am very happy and proud to be able to show this contemporary work — a work that was clearly influenced by Corona — executed with the handwriting of the most successful burlesque photographer in Germany. The Z is at the end of the alphabet and Zora’s idea for this group show is at the very beginning — not to mention sex is at the beginning of our lives. A perfect, sexy circle!