Walhalla : off-scene.on

The photographs were taken at the Steintor-Variety Theatre, formerly the Walhalla-Variety, in my hometown of Halle/Saale, German. After twenty years, I felt compelled to return to this place that shaped my childhood, where my mother took me when I was a little girl. I wanted to revisit my past through the eyes I have now. I could have visited the block of flats where I grew up, but since it was demolished, it wouldn’t have been the same. The theatre experience was uniquely magical, with its colors and glittering fabrics that sparked dreams—elements that never existed in the gray, foggy city, known for its industrial clouds and cement.

The five compositions depict various areas of the theatre in complete human absence, captured from my perspective as I remember them: the backstage corridors adorned with colorful, torn posters and autographs; the canteen with heavy metal doors and handles seen from a child’s viewpoint; the make-up room with vibrant paint on the windowsills; a hidden stage with worn-out work signs on the floor; the parquet floor of the audience area, with small bistro tables; and the stage itself, known for its vastness. The composition of the large stage recalls the arrangement of religious icons in a church, as if it were a memory of an altar.

Exhibition & screening

2010. Atto ZERØ curated by Elisa Schiavina | gallery OltreDimore in Bologna/Italy

off-scene.on | 2010 | lambda prints on metal paper and aluminium | various and variable dimensions: cm 70×155 / cm 135×140 / cm 90×100 | Ed.: 7 + 1 a.p.