Try it with the what why how taken away

T8E18E

T8E18E is a book, that collects three fields of hypotheses: sociology (“Gefährte”), psychology (“Seele”) and philosophy (“Sophia”). It has been done as bachelor thesis and is relatively small with a measurement of 268 × 205 mm when it is opened. It has a cover sleeve with the cryptic title T8E18E. This publication is providing scientific texts, as well as modern literature next to photography that has been done to underline the hypotheses in those texts. The given text is sometimes provided as excerpts, summaries, or quotes. White drawings on blue background serve the purpose of dividing the three chapters.

The book has been printed digitally in an edition of five. Visually, the work is playing with the viewer’s perception and his assumptions by arousing, confirming or debunking them through first showing only a snippet of the whole image and later on revealing it completely. Only two colors have been used: A dark blue being soothing, but also symbolic for the work with hypothesis. Not only is there being done a “trip into the blue”; the color is used in literature for distance, desire and clarity. After all the construction of hypothesis has one purpose: the desire to create clarity. Black is being used for the parts of knowledge.

In our social structure, one quickly subordinates to given systems taking them as granted. It is expected or assumed, that this would be the right way to live in order to find happiness or satisfaction. I wanted to find out what leads people to this assumption. Why are life-changing decisions being made by relying on assumptions?

This work is addressing people who are questioning the basics of living. Whether they are in the middle of starting their job career, or retired: many people are experiencing a new reflectiveness, maybe even crisis and are thinking about what is important in their lives.

Poesie des Destruktivismus

This work is an installation consisting of a video being showed on an old CRT-Television and is being surrounded by cables and wires. The video itself is showing various excerpts of moving imagery like a beach scene, the printing of an artwork, a portrait of a person, a rocket launch or a man swinging his arms out of boredom. The videos are corrupted or fragmented and – over time – completely destroyed. The constant and abrupt shifting of the videos reminds of switching through TV stations. Electronic music is being played in the background and sometimes distorted voices are being introduced. The chapters are divided through individual staged moderations and connected through one common idea: the futuristic manifesto. The moderations are being narrated in fragments either by using distorted voices, or fake Teletext prompts and DVD-menus. The videos are accompanied by self composed music, that on its own is leaving an incomplete and fragmentary impression. Intending to represent rapid technological progress as well as already obsolete technology, the video installations have been displayed on a CRT-screen that was covered in old wires and cables. We are living in times of great technological progress. There are plans of uniting man and machine, but still we have to struggle with old afflictions: there is no universal remedy against boredom, depression, burnouts or other sufferings. Instead, I wanted to show that one has the responsibility to develop oneself further rather than leaving everything up to technology.

First World Aid

The project “First World Aid” was done in collaboration with Thomas Bögle and Simon Gogolin. It consists of a sticker-­magazine and stickers. It visualizes the tiny challenges of our daily routine and categorizes them. The stickers are providing the problems and have messages written on them, like for example “I’ve seen a friend on the bus – now I can‘t listen to music anymore”, “I’m so drunk that the party isn’t fun any more”, or “I cannot work outside because my screen is reflecting the sun”. The according pages where one can put the stickers are showing possibilities to solve them in a humorous manner. The sticker magazine explains by philosophical topics what problems are and reveals their true causes; it explains why human beings have to use their own mind, as it had been demanded before by Immanuel Kant in the 18th century. Solutions for todays abstract difficulties have been worked out. The whole project offers an appeal to encounter philosophical topics to solve a problem faster in the future. Because every human being in the First World must dedicate his time to the giant global ­challenges of our world, and not to his own daily grind. Being produced by a risograph and self-­published, it quickly creates a cheap possibility to “help”. In our so called First World problems of luxury are arising: goods covering the basic human needs abound, chances and possibilities seem to be endless and machines are improving our human entity which becomes as comfortable as it has never been before. Nowadays, problems are generated that are no problems compared to other regions of the world. “I am living in a city without subculture”, “the new update is slowing my iPhone down” or “I am not crazy enough to be an artist” are what we call problems in the First World. This work has been made to bring back maturity and responsibility to the reader.