Fences separate, limit, protect. They denote ownership, safety or exclusion and draw clear boundaries between “here” and “there”, “in” and “out”. Sometimes they are an expression of control and demarcation and sometimes a symbol of order and belonging. In many cases they stand for petty bourgeois homeliness and for the desire for a detached home – a safe space that
simultaneously creates a visible boundary to the world around it. But what if fences not only separate but also unite? If they are not fixed and immovable but movable, permeable, changeable? What if they have holes, permit gaps – or if suddenly everything is fenced in? The artists who are part of Gaswerk Weimar e. V. have conceived of an exhibition for this year’s Kunstfest that deals with the multifacetedness of fences. It invites people to rethink what fences
mean to them – elements that not only delimit but also break open structures and permit new ways of thinking, facilitate encounters and redefine spaces. In fixed, mobile and interactive
installations the exhibition makes boundaries physically perceptible – both as obstacles and as something that shifts, intersects or can create a new connection. In doing this the artists not only incorporated their own artistic perspective but also asked workshop participants from Weimar to themselves build fences that reflect their personal experiences and that either playfully call into question or consciously reinterpret this everyday symbol.
Closing event
Curated by: Benedikt Braun, Canan Yilmaz & Konstantin Bayer
An exhibition by Gaswerk Weimar e. V. with the participation workshop participants.