Your nervine sense, which debunks* the ghosts with which
I clothe myself and which I hurl at you
*as profitable hoaxes.
They come out at the end of the shift to flood the streets on bicycles
as the Elbe washes through us
and puts a restless old mirror everywhere
that makes it impossible for us to know
where we are, in this moment. You’d just have to throw the city
into the air, then it would fly.
(excerpt from “Deiche”)
‘Überverortung’ is a performative investigation of the former Singer sewing machine factory in Wittenberge. Using methods from dance, architecture, and sociology, I investigated how historical, social, and ecological ecological systems and narratives are interrelated. How do ideas like ‘cultural landscape’ or ‘worker’ arise and morph and how can they be experienced and made tangible physically, using the body as a nodal point?
The main research phase took place from February-April 2022 with different collaborators and contributors, for example sound artist and field recordist Jake Muir, choreographer and dancer Hannah Schillinger and videographer Ethan Folk.
One of the outcomes of the research is ‘Deiche’, a videowork of 10minutes that uses poetry and movement qualities that have been developed in response to the interviews and the space directly.
I have had in-depth conversations with former workers of the factory and people related to the memory culture of Veritas, such as Lothar Wuttke and Christian von Hagen. By talking with the people I learned a lot about their personal experiences, but I also got a chance to reflect on what I was doing in this research. With what purpose have I come here? What skill do I have, that justifies asking people for their memories? Most importantly, the conversations strengthened my wish to speak with the people in a humble and honest way and to listen to what they want to tell.
The pictures above show the same/related spaces in 2023 and on a postcard from around 1930. The decay is obvious, but what I am interested in are the traces of intense historical changes: Reunification, liquidation and the subsequent demontage of what used to be the worker’s pride. The significance of these processes is present in nowaday Wittenberge and is often an emotionally charged topic.
Factory in the surroundings: Neobiota
Just before German reunification, a nature park was created in the area. After reunification, it was expanded and now is a UNESCO Biosphere reserve that has its borders right at the former factory. One of the many goals of the reserve is to protect local species from invasive species, so called Neobiota. I found a special interest in these “foreign(er) animals”. They are linked in intricate ways with the history of the factory and its politics.
This project was funded by a research grant from Fonds Darstellende Künste.
