Die Wandergruppe, 2017
books from public libraries
variable dimensions
photo: GM
The collaboration between artists Nora Mertes and Hannah Gieseler unites books from public Berlin libraries that feature reproductions of the C.D. Friedrich paintings ‘Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer’ (1818) and ‘Das Eismeer’ (1823-24). At first, the exhibition presents the books opened up on the images of the ‘Wanderer’ conveying the context in which each image was reproduced. The images differ in colour, format, size and aspect ratio and have varied cracks, creases or bends in the paper. Through the horizontal layering of the books and their various thicknesses, sizes and paper qualities, a landscape is formed on the exhibition floor. On this terrain a hiking group will meet for the first half of the exhibition period.
Only a few days later, after turning some more pages, ‘Das große Eismeer’ will appear out of a nest of stacked books. Through the ice floes depicted in the painting and the icy cool of the room, a polar landscape will take hold during the second half of the exhibition.
The two works are accompanied by a description of a route in five stages.