Wendelien van Oldenborgh

Date: 23 February - 23 April 2005

The installation ‘Stadtluft' by Wendelien van Oldenborgh (Rotterdam, 1962) uses slides fading one into the other showing various observations of a small public building. It is an elegant, villa like public restroom in Stuttgart which has been appropriated by a group of people who hang out on the street a lot. Through the architecture and the way it is used, the building could also be interpreted as a stage or as a private living room. This creates an intriguing play with private and public, with the camera as an accomplice. Van Oldenborgh made ‘Stadtluft' during her stay in Stuttgart (Germany) and also made a book with the same title, featuring texts by a.o. Fareed Armaly. The texts in this publication discuss the various positions the observer - the camera- can take, referring to themes like (self)representation and urban narrative.