Vor der eigenen Tür kehren

(Literally: broom in front your own door. Meaning: mind your own buisness)
Mysterious Barricades #5
Dresden, Germany
ADA – Archiv der Avantgarden
Invited by Isabell Baldermann
Duration: 29 minutes
Photographs by Monika Deimling

Context:

The fifth performance in the work cycle Mysterious Barricades was presented at the finissage of the exhibition Archive of Dreams. A Surrealist Impulse at ADA – Archiv der Avantgarden in Dresden. Inspired by André Breton’s surrealist manifestos, the exhibition showcased a diverse collection of artworks and documents by avant-garde artists.

For its inaugural exhibition, the Archive of the Avant-Garde was reimagined as the Archive of Dreams, transforming into a realm of dreams and uncanny visions. It became a space where dreams were archived, activated, rediscovered, examined, exhibited, and performed. The setting evolved into a labyrinth of visions, ideas, creative processes, historical artifacts, and a site where ancient myths unfolded through avant-garde practices.

The performance began within the exhibition space and concluded outdoors, in front of the building, bridging the interior world of surreal visions with the open expanse beyond.

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

• Sweeping red cardboard letters from inside the exhibition space to the area outside, in front of the main entrance. [The smooth floor of the exhibition space allows the letters to glide easily while being swept.]
• Arrange the letters in a half-circle formation in front of the building.
• Slowly walking along the columns of the main entrance with a large eye attached to the head and two pairs of blue shoes, one pair held in each hand.
• Turning several plates placed on the ground. [The plates produce a loud ceramic sound as they are turned.]
• Placing the plates on a table and pulling the table with a rope. [The plates shift due to the uneven ground and fall, breaking upon impact.] At the same time, blow into a glass bowl filled with soap water using a tube. [Soap bubbles form in the bowl and are carried by the wind.]
• Nailing four blue shoes to each of the table’s legs.
• Guiding the table, attached to two white ropes connected to guiding sticks, around the area and up the stairs before placing it at the museum’s front door.
• Ringing a small silver bell and moving it in and out of a water bowl. [The sound of the bell changes each time it touches the water.]
• Standing on the table and throwing hundreds of feathers from a basket. [The wind scatters the feathers across the action field.]