Transit Lounge

first ideas

2006-02-25T21:21:05Z

thanks again to our first residency artists and their creative input to help make this first month a real success-we had lots of positive feedback from various people. now it's time to start thinking myself.and while Katie and I feel a little lonely it is great to have kept some installations and items from the previous artists.made me think about history of a space,reminders of what happened there....and the space itself undergoing change....or transitory states. I found an old school in east Berlin, partly used by Russians while their troops occupied east Berlin- it will be renovated and transformed into appartments, but right now its an amazing space with layers and layers of wallpaper cascading down the walls,holes in floor and ceilings,old russian writing on the walls,signs about what to do in case of nuclear attacks and how to shoot and a DDT contaminated roof.I think I will create a performance or installation there, document it on video and bring it back into the transitlounge space to be screened onto samples of the original wallpapers......MIRIAM

A few impressions

2006-02-15T12:19:19Z

beginings

2006-02-02T15:00:43Z

Cat Hope, Sumu Sivanesan + Stephanie Carrick have finally landed in the Transit Lounge and into the bitter Berlin cold. The last few days have been spent getting reacquainted with the city and beginning work on various projects that will be shown in the lounge over the next few weeks. Their initial ideas should begin appearing on the blog in the next few days. If you happen to be in Berlin, feel free to come down to the space in Finowstr on Wednesday, Thursday or Sunday from 12-6pm and have a look at the work in progress.

On the 27.01.06, in preparation for the first arrivals, the first screening event was held at the Transit Lounge. This screening was part of a series of events running parallel to the residencies, which will showcase contemporary Australian new media art. The first screening was a compilation of video works from the Australian Electrofringe Festival 2005. Now in its 8th year, Electrofringe focuses on nascent technologies offering artists a chance to network and exchange ideas and techniques as well as show their work.

In addition to the screening, images by the Australian collective boat-people.org were also shown at the gallery. Created in reaction to growing nationalism in Australia, which is fuelled by paranoia over terrorism, it was interesting to see peoples reaction to the images when they were transplanted to Berlin. Given the current focus on national identity in Germany (and Europe generally) spurred on by Turkey's desire to join the EU, the images still had currency, even if their meaning shifted focus.

Thanks to all of the people that helped out on the night.

Katie Hepworth