location:
Holland Tunnel Gallery
date:
May 17th - June 15th
material:
green gafferstape, CD-Player, wall paper, artificial flowers, styrophome, artificial grass
photographer:
Gerd Dollhopf
sponsor: A.S. Création

"Inventing Gardens" is an installation, which is dedicated to the extraordinary situation and location of Holland Tunnel Gallery in Williamsburg. The gallery is located in a garden house in the middle of a backyard garden. It is an object by itself. The time, in which my installation is presented, will be spring time, where the flowers are in full bloom.

My home, my house is my castle. My house is my private paradise, where I try to keep the outer world away. The garden of paradise is, where everything started.

The installation "Inventing Gardens" is a picture of the soul. It relates to the idea of garden. It shows a garden invading the house. The garden penetrates the interieur: the wall paper, the door and the windows. The garden becomes interieur and at the same time it breaks the house - and the idea of house - open. The garden inside is a surrealistic garden of imagination.
In addition, a voice can be heard reading a poem. The poem is talking about the first garden: the garden Eden of the Bibel. ...What happened to the idea of the Gardens of Semiramis?... What is left of this idea of the garden today? ... This area is the a moslem area today... a garden is a meeting point, ... what about the idea of all religions are meeting in a garden?

On the other side, all flowers are artificial. This adds an ironic touch to the installation: garden centers sell artificial grass and flowers for the conveniance of the people. This way, they can have plants without the "dirt" and the need for care. So the flowers, growing through the wall papers, are as well the same time a "frozen" image of the plants itselves. They represent an image of an image.