Archipelago Islands

There’s a whole host of archipelago islands off the coast of Gothenburg. Every island name ends in -ö, which simply means ‘island’! Like Vrångö, Styrsö, Brännö, Hönö …
You just take the tram there and then the ferries; it’s all covered by one ticket (I had a 3-day ticket for about € 25 …) … Unfortunately, it was all rather grey that day, with a steady drizzle, so I travelled to Brännö for half an hour, enjoyed the sight of the deserted granite cliffs, and then headed straight back. It must be absolutely lovely in the height of summer!

Up North … and Summer Ending?

So I’m hopping on the train once again and heading first to the northernmost tip of Germany on the Baltic Sea, where my mum lives. The house is slowly becoming too big for her (especially the garden, which needs a lot of looking after) and we’re currently trying to sell it.

The Baltic Sea is cold (18° one day, the next 20°, depending on where the wind comes from), but I go for a swim anyway, playing in the unusually high waves and thinking: this is the last time.

Oh Weiterstadt!

Weiterstadt, Open Air Film Festival Weiterstadt … I praise you!

Right now I am sitting on the train back home drinking an ice latte caramel oat milk … 4 super sweaty intense days behind me, organizing making layouting the daily festival magazine DER JOCHEN which has a long background story … will tell you later.

Here for the Sunday posting some photo impressions!! It was hell hot, 🔥 it was heartwarm, it was memory and meeting old film buddies, it was dusty and less trees than last time 10 years ago, it was passionately organized and embraced, it was the Woodstock of Southwest Germany!

Getting ready for the sun eclipse Wednesday!

Wetting the forest!!

The popcorn machine is arriving!

The JOCHEN fanzine, first day …

2nd day, with glow in the dark sticker!

Colour JOCHEN, 3rd day!

Schlingen

In my old home town area, there are four places – four buildings – whose names end in ‘Schlingen’: Einschlingen, Zweischlingen, Dreischlingen and Vierschlingen. Hundreds of years ago, these were customs posts. Travellers had to pay a fee to continue along the country road (they’re all on the same road, what’s now the B 68).

Zweischlingen is a cool venue with a restaurant and a disco; Dreischlingen used to be a brothel and has burnt down; Einschlingen is a community centre, some sort of social hub; and Vierschlingen … nobody knows anymore!

How would I translate ‘Schlingen’? Slings? Loops? Like little pauses on a string, that’s what they were and that’s what I animated!

Bochum Kunstmuseum Kids Workshop

I’ve never run a workshop for such young children (aged between 7 and 10) before … but I have to say: it’s great fun! Most of them were accompanied by a parent … and together we walked to the park, collected flowers and other plants, performed some impromptu dances and had a brilliant time! The kids were very curious and weren’t at all shy about experimenting with the camera, even though they’d never seen one before in their lives!

Wine Cooler And Mussels

The coolest wine cooler!!
Seen at La Rhétaise

“La Rhétaise est une cabane ostréicole située au cœur des marais de la Couarde sur l’Ile de Ré. Nous sommes 2 sœurs à mener la barque: Jana s’occupe de la production et Charlotte la vend. Un véritable travail d’équipe !
D’avril à novembre nous vous accueillons sur notre site de 7 hectares de marais où vous pourrez déguster les huîtres et crevettes de nos productions mais aussi d’autres produits de la mer comme les moules, les bulots, les palourdes, etc …”

“La Rhétaise is an oyster farm located in the heart of the Couarde marshes on the Île de Ré. We’re two sisters running the show: Jana looks after production and Charlotte handles sales. It’s a real team effort!
From April to November, we welcome you to our 7-hectare marshland site, where you can sample our own oysters and prawns, as well as other seafood such as mussels, whelks, clams and more …”

Salt

Salt has been harvested on the Île de Ré since the Middle Ages – or perhaps even much longer!
The salt marshes consist of shallow basins in which the seawater slowly evaporates under the influence of the sun and wind. Through this process, which lasts several weeks, salt crystals form naturally.
I cycle around the area a lot and come across a stand run by a very nice lady with salt-white hair! I buy four bags of Fleur de Sel.

Une Baguette, S’il Vous Plait!

There is a baguette law: the “Décret Pain”! This 1993 law protects the traditional baguette (“baguette de tradition française”), which may only be made from flour, water, salt and yeast.
Incidentally, it was designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022.

The Loneliness Of The Villages

I think a lot about why and how small villages develop. Through my film, I’ve visited two: Zusamaltheim in Bavaria and Lusignan in France. Both are relatively quiet (in my view); there are lots of shops that have closed down: the optician’s, the photo shop, the grocery shop, the newspaper and tabac shop.

Both had a bakery, though! But no café where the villagers could meet up for a chat. Both, however, had an organic shop set up on the locals’ own initiative! The one in Zusamaltheim was a farm shop run by the only organic farmer for kilometers around; the one in Lusignan was a lovingly run organic shop with plenty of local fruit and vegetables, cider and wine (I bought the most delicious pear cider in the world there!!).
I’m thinking about the evolution of villages now.

Berlin – Paris – Lusignan – Loix – Berlin 2

Lusignan. In the middle of France. Heatwave.

I’m on a research tour for my new film. All on Super 8 as usual but a little bit longer! I got funding thanks to Berlin artist senate!!

“Welcome to Lusignan, land of knights! Located about twenty kilometers from Poitiers, the cradle of the legend of the fairy Mélusine”

“The legend tells the story of Mélusine, a young girl cursed by her mother and condemned to the following curse: every Saturday, her legs transform to two serpent’s tails. A mermaid. If caught in this state, she will never be able to return to human form. To break the curse, she must marry a man who will never have to see her on Saturdays.
In Lusignan, she meets Raymondin and agrees to marry him on the condition that he does not seek to see her on Saturdays. After their wedding, Raymondin then became the most powerful lord of Poitou. The fairy Mélusine, the builder, built the Château de Lusignan on her husband’s land, as well as other majestic cities and fortresses in the surrounding area.
But: Out of curiosity, one day Raymondin seeks to unlock his wife’s secret and discovers her serpent’s tails while she is in her bath. When Melusine realizes this, she disappears screaming and profaning horrible threats against the fortresses she has built for her husband.” (https://www.tourisme-vienne.com/en/webzines/lusignan/)

I discover her everywhere … and I like her. Her husband Raymondin, well, he couldn’t leave her alone one single day … control freak! So she left.

More in the next posting! I found the castle remains!!

Berlin – Paris – Lusignan – Loix – Berlin 1

Starting my journey! It’s all for my next film … I got some funding so I am able to travel, pay for train tickets and accomodation and a handful of super 8 cassettes!

First stop: Brussels, then Paris.

It’s so hot in Paris, you can hardly imagine it. Here I am, trying to fan a bit of air into this sweltering carriage …

Kuzunguka

A small but lovely exhibition opening the night before last at the Kunstverein Neukölln – a self-managed gallery in my neighbourhood.

I am one of six artists exhibiting there. Title: Kuzunguka: “People and animals move swiftly through the city. Changes in pace whilst travelling between town and country. Sometimes stumbling or even floating. Or working in the fields, as migrant workers, in Finland.
This exhibition will feature, amongst other things, pinhole photographs of moving people in the city, a drawing, collages, a cyanotype and prints documenting journeys by regional train.
Kuzunguka: A verb in Kiswahili, pure onomatopoeia, meaning ‘to move between places’.”

(I developed my 5 pinhole photos in Berlin beer called BRLO!)

Ode To June #14

5 more days and June is over! Can’t believe it … so fast … I’m filming every day and I started to develop the first film cassettes and getting them digitized …
A mixture of Hamburg and Mama and Berlin and country and sheep and sneakers and flowers flowers flowers …

Some snippets …

… of our super 8 workshop group film recently at Filmhaus in Nürnberg!

Entwickelt in Caffenol und in einem Gebräu aus Bananen, Mandarinen, Zwiebeln, Spargel, Melone, lila Süßkartoffel, Passionsfrucht, gelbe Paprika, Eierschalen, Erdbeeren, Apfel und Durstlöscher Waldmeister!

Developed in Caffenol and a brew made from bananas, mandarins, onions, asparagus, melon, purple sweet potato, passion fruit, yellow peppers, eggshells, strawberries, apple and Durstlöscher woodruff!

Thank you for being part of it Christiane, Laura, Paul, Georg, Corinna, Philip, Yulia, Nikolas, Michael, Natalie und Alexandra!

Click on the image or here!