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SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP, MY PRECIOUS BABY SLEEP!
Series of 11 silver gelatin Prints, 100x140cm and 11 flipbooks, 7x18cm, 2010
The title of the project is irritating at first glance, because on the large prints you can see “ordinary” places and landscapes. There is a mystic and somewhat scary feeling which comes from the blurring on the pictures. On closer inspection you recognize some inconsistencies. For example, there are swings in the picture, but one of the swings is missing, or you have the impression that there is something wrong in the picture. There are also some little booklets, with color prints of the same places. The pictures can be turned into a flip book and then a person appears who is doing some things which seem quite absurd. This isn’t visible on the large prints.
In fact, all the photos were taken at the same time. The large black and white prints come from a pinhole camera, which has an exposure time of approximately ten minutes. During this time a second camera took a picture every eight seconds. And so what is happening is documented in this way. Very often we are persuaded to believe what we see on the outside, especially when it seems to be harmless, beautiful and nice. This could be the neighbor, who was so polite all the time or the “clumsy” wife, who fell down the stairs once again. When the outward appearance is fine, we don’t want to scratch the surface. Better not to ask further, that would disturb the peace and wake up sleeping dogs. The stories should be seen as symbols or place holders. The central theme is therefore not the concrete social grievances but rather how we deal with those grievances socially.
