first pics

hello everyone

i am so sorry it has taken time to begin the process of letting you know how it went. I put some pics on the blog, the first one shows Daniel Malbert, the director of the Institut Francais and Sabine Keller without whose help it would not have been possible. We are just giving them a guided tour before the official opening. Daniel was happy to show work by artists from different nationalities and to look, as he said, not always at Paris, but beyond the European borders. 

the other three pics show scenes from the opening, unfortunately I had no time to also take pics of the downstairs floor, Fanny's cousin took loads and they will get to you eventually.

many many thanks and i am so pleased how nicely every work fitted in - complementing this very interesting architectural space as well as  each other's work

petra

some photos of the setting up will follow next, so sequences are a little out of synch

Tuesday, 3 days before the opening

Yesterday Johann"s painting went up. It is exactly in the place where I had seen it on my first visit to the institut francais now nine months ago. And it looks as good as I expected.

Downstairs we have been playing around with DVDs, Jeremy and Juergen (from Institut Francais) worked all afternoon, Khan"s work is also up. It now fits in nicely after several attempts to find a home for them.

It is a very good feeling and for once things are running smoothly. Everyone at the Institut Francais is very helpful.

Today we have one more run at distributing flyers around town and in Bonn and then we have two more days to hang up Fanny"s work, do the wall and the painstaking (I so much look forward to this meditative work) distribution of Sophie"s photos.

There was one moment of sadness when I looked down the large auditorium where I had hoped Shaw might do his trademark intervention with coloured neon tubes. Next time.

AAAh which brings up a new idea, depending on the outcome of this show, maybe we could turn this into an annual event in Cologne - our very own art cologne

updating of Caoyang Project

last week, we went to the Caoyang district. Took some photos and video.

The old ladies and their husbands happily show their words by sewing characters on sheets.

But, it is obvious, their laguage is as pale as their faces.

They are orgnized by the neighborhood committees, which is taking the responssibility of screening residents' true words from their heart.

So, you can see what is happening, a 'beautiful' art project.

Seven days to go and tonight we had duck, wine and courgettes with honey.

Jeremy has arrived from France and immediately took charge of our well being.

I got a visa to the States today by spending 5 minutes on the computer putting in very basic info and received an entry number by return. Actually I am lying, in fact I spent almost an hour but that was because the server I used did not support the program. After 45 minutes of trying different ways, someone suggested I should try internet explorer instead of firefox and then it took indeed only five minutes. 

It is day 12 or so (approaching 250 hours) since we started to apply for a visa from China to Germany. Tomorrow the German Consulate in Shanghai will receive a phone call from Germany asking why two artists wishing to attend the opening of an exhibition showing their work and in possession of an official invitation are required to present information beyond that listed in the guidance notes. 

Wednesday, 8 days before the opening

As I put up a poster inside the Chinese travel agent at Sachsenring, a man outside begins to wave and point. His gestures tell me, I am putting the poster up the wrong way.

He soon realises what kind of poster this is and walks off laughing.

At the Koeln Filmhaus another man tells me he has heard of this exhibition, he wants my card, he has even looked at the blog. I tell him about our visa problems, he nods, "You do not have to tell me". And adds "It can be very lonely in Cologne".

I walk from one end of Cologne to the other, putting up posters, fuelled by anger - wut in German which if one turns the first letter round reads mut (courage) - all this talk about human rights here and who is it who does not allow an artist to be at the opening of his or her exhibition? Would we have got the visa if we had gone for a tourist visa???

The Wall

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in betweens

invitation

And here is the invitation for the show