Wolfgang Oelze

Temporary film and barbecue installation, dimensions variable. Mobile stage construction, scaffolding, photo-canvas, plaster, paint, barbecue equipment. Hamburg, 2010

On a traffic island opposite the Wilhelmsburg suburban railway station, a stage is built on a light, sandy ground. The outer dimensions are approx. 5m x 5m. The stage is reminiscent of western town scenery, and also references to artificial ruins of 18th century parks. At the same time, the construction alludes to a semi-finished building-site or cave dwelling.

Inside, an apartment is partly reconstructed with a wall been broken through violently. This design refers to the film Themroc (1973, Claude Faraldo). Inside and outside of the construction there are three functional barbecue points. A wall of the stage is laid out as a screen. People can barbecue at any time while movies are being projected.

A selection of films will be screened at regular, announced intervals, which present utopian images of human coexistence. Examples: Planet of the Apes (1968, Franklin J. Schaffner), Time of the Wolf (2003, Michael Haneke), Safe (1995, Todd Haynes), Le dernier combat (1983, Luc Besson), Wolfen (1981, Michael Wadleigh), Westworld (1973, Michael Crichton).

The films blend with the setting together with the visitors. They create a scenery that can be observed from a nearby platform, with a filmic bird’s eye view.