Kreuzberg

QUOBO Art in Berlin 1989–1999. Touring exhibition by the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa), DE 2000

On the occasion of the ifa exhibition QUOBO Art in Berlin 1989–1999, inges idee was commissioned to develop an artistic contribution that would at the same time fulfill the function of an archive room. Since QUOBO is conceived as a traveling exhibition to be hosted in a wide variety of places, a form had to be found that would be independent of the respective architecture and flexible enough to fit the various spaces. To this purpose, inges idee developed Kreuzberg, a 10 x 8 meter, hand-woven wool plaid with a regular, red-green grid pattern. The carpet-like textile hangs from a wall and stretches out onto the floor, where it covers two sitting ensembles and a table, upon which two computer terminals function as an information bank. By rolling out from the wall to the floor, the woven material connects these two architectural elements, thus tying together questions of painting and sculpture in the space. The bright red-green grid pattern, which stands in stark contrast to the natural color of the goat wool, alludes to the grid structure omnipresent in the computer. The plaid’s overlaying of the cubic furniture elements creates situations that oscillate between two- and three-dimensionality. The immanent contrast between high- and low-tech and between the virtual computer archive and the simple nomads’ camp is a manifesting component of the work. Kreuzberg is able to adapt to a wide variety of spatial situations. It can be rolled out to different lengths and can be set up and transported without difficulties. The work thus fulfills, in the simplest way and at the same time, the demands of being both sculpture and a constituting site.