Raumarbeit II / space/site work II
Installation, Kleiner Wasserspeicher, Berlin, Germany
Construction: Paper Blattmacher
Assistance: Michael Roggon, Thomas Wochnik & Hans Bram
Comissioned and curated by Carsten Seiffarth and Markus Steffens for singuhr e.V.
2013

images / text / movie



Raumarbeit II is a site specific machine, a cybernetic sculpture constructed for the "Kleiner Wasserspeicher", Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin.
 
The location is a circular space of a former waterreservoir, build in Berlin in 1856. The Sculpture consists of two independent engines, two speakers, two microphones, a 200 W light bulb and a 240 cm x 267 cm large moving two way mirror, cut into two segments. The two engines cause these parts to circulate in 4 different speeds, rotating around the centre of the space.
 
The light bulb is located in the centre, with a tin lantern rotating around it, allowing a slit of light to move through the space. Situated below the light at a large speaker circulates at a slower pace. The motor that is turning these two is also moving a huge two way mirror temporarily filling of the otherwise open brick gates that define the centre of the location. 
According to the position of the light, the glass oscillates between transparent, opaque and mirroring state 
 
Additionally on the outer rim of the space a spherical speaker moves at a very slow speed 70m/h along a of 70 meter long monorail. A segment of the location had been walled in during the cause of history. In order to allow the mono rail speaker to travel in full circle, 2 large holes have been created.
 
The sounds that the speakers of the two machines are distributing are the sounds of the engines that are moving them, picked up by condenser microphones.
 
The Raumarbeit II is a self-centered self-reflecting machine. It is a machine-machine and like its functional siblings a representative of human limitations and a universe that only exists within an arm reach.
           
Realized with kind support of the Bezirksamts Pankow, Berlin, initiative neue musik berlin e.V., Stiftung Kunstfonds and Förderband e.V