It ain’t over until it’s over #4

Magdeburg, Germany 2020
Art Fair Magdeburg
Invited by Dorothea Hertel and Volker Kiehn
Duration: 24 minutes
Photographs by Monika Deimling

Context:

During the pandemic, the fourth edition of the Magdeburg Art Fair in Germany felt like a much-needed relief. With great care, the organisers created a space where artists and art lovers could come together, share art, and engage in conversation. It was remarkable how many people attended, eager for a moment of artistic connection after months of isolation.

The venue, Magdeburg’s historic Old City Hall, provided ample space for visitors to move freely, wandering from gallery booth to gallery booth. Despite the masks, expressions of joy and appreciation were unmistakable – eyes lit up, and an unspoken sense of community filled the air. It was a special moment in difficult times.

The fourth performance in the work cycle It Ain’t Over Until It’s Over was presented as part of the fair’s official opening. I chose a corner of the Old City Hall marked by wooden cassette panelling and light brown herringbone parquet flooring – an interior rich with history, adding another layer of meaning to the performance.

Description of actions:
A collage of performance images and sounds is created by executing the following actions with selected material.

– Moving the hand over the heads of the audience and “collecting” their thoughts; Placing them into the trouser pocket.
– Lifting up the shirt. [Dozens of Ping-Pong balls fall from the shirt on the floor and bounce around.]
– Babbling in the audience’s direction; While babbling, moving the fingers dipped in green paint from the mouth over the throat to the lungs. [Green traces are appearing on the mouth, throat, and chest.]
– Lightning a “cake fountain” that is placed in the mouth of a dead fish. [Moving the fish as it would swim while the cake fountain is active.]
– Binding the fish as a tie around the neck.
– Toasting to the audience with a little glass filled with water.
– Pouring the glass of water into the shirt pocket. [A red stain appears as the red pigment in the pocket is mixing with the water.]
– Coloring both eyes red.
– Binding colorful spikes on my head.
– Waggling two bunches of feathers in the hands. [Increasing action: From a gently flying movement to hectic up and down.]
– Placing a big egg into brown wooden wool; Opening the egg on top and taking out yellow feathers. [The feathers are flying gently on the floor.]
– Placing the fish into the egg and closing the egg.
– Repeating the gesture from the beginning, removing little golden stars from the pocket and letting them fall to the ground while leaving the action field.