Using a photomicroscope, microscopic photographs of a particle of patina from the outer surface of the Castle at Osnabrück (which houses Osnabrück University lecture theatres) were digitized and printed on special film. This slightly translucent and weather-resistant foil was mounted on the skylight of the adjacent university building. The window lights the foyer above the stairs leading to the hall where the Downdate media art conference was held. Supported by the University of Osnabrück (Downdate-International Media Conference), 3M, Nikon.
Translation of the artist´s inscription of the wall:
a symbiosis in the system is at war the tigger is deficient self-suport
multiplication has ceased to function complete individuals are dying out the spirit is no longer identifiable
the goal no longer resides in itself
a life draws to a close
Comment (Artist´s general remark on project BOOTSCHAFT)
BOATS (German: Boote) take us from place to place, transport objects from A to B and are reloadable transportation media.
MESSAGES (German: Botschaften) take messages from the mouth to the ear, are articulated and heard, thought and developed. Messages spread, circulate and create complex communication systems.
EMBASSYBUILDINGS (German: Botschaften) are places of communication that have turned to stone; interfaces between politics and life that have evolved over time and are symbolic of the change brought about by diplomacy and transparency.
BOOTSCHAFT: it is becoming increasingly important in this global age to illuminate individual surfaces and content, and to make them visible. This is precisely what the media art project BOOTSCHAFT is all about. It illuminates the patina – the natural organic film – on historical, political or ‘geographically-charged’ objects in public space. Modern technology is used to ‘put the spotlight on’ the selected places/objects and their history, and to network them. Information is stored and decentralised, and a dialogue about history, present and future is set in motion.
