HIDDEN - HIDDEN - Aliseo Art Project NO_09_2019

HIDDEN - HIDDEN - Aliseo Art Project NO_09_2019

Under the motto HIDDEN, students from the photography class of Prof. Katharina Mayer (University of Applied Sciences Europe (UE)/Iserlohn and Berlin) and the painting class of Prof. Dr. Ulrika Eller-Rüter (Department of Fine Arts at Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Alfter/Bonn) explored a “lost place” in southern Germany. The setting was the former HUKLA upholstery factory site, covering approximately 180,000 square meters, where the family-owned company Aliseo has been headquartered since 2015.

At the invitation of the management, the students had the opportunity to live and work on the site for a week in order to investigate the historical layers of the place and uncover what had remained hidden. The focus was on the theme of memory, which the students approached from different perspectives and cultural backgrounds.

The result was works in various media, including photographic series, videos, paintings, installations, collages, and assemblages, in which found objects and materials from the old factory were used. Dead material was imbued with new meaning and life.

A special moment of the art project was the encounter among the 19 students themselves, who come from eight different cultures. They were also able to experience firsthand the tension between a decaying place inscribed with the history of economic and social change and a modern company seeking new paths on this foundation. It was precisely here that they had the opportunity to play an active role as artists in a professional context.

The results of the working process were presented in the annual Aliseo Art Project exhibition.

Uncovering and concealing.

Prof. Dr. Ulrika Eller-Rüter, Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences
Prof. Katharina Mayer, University of Applied Sciences Europe (UE), Berlin/Iserlohn