Tempelreinigung

Fotoserie, Größe variabel, 2014

National British Museum, Elgin Marbles

Die Protagonistinnen tragen Pappmachekostüme, welche Kopien der Faltenwürfe der "Elgin Marbles" sind und erinnern in ihrem Aufzug (Darstellung und Pose) an klassische Tragödiendarsteller. .
Die „Elgin Marbles“ sind Fragmente des Athener Parthenonfrieses, die 1801 von Lord Elgin, einem britischen Gesandten in Griechenland, faktisch gestohlen und später an das British Museum weiterverkauft wurden.
Heute gehören die Skulpturen zu den bedeutendsten Ausstellungsstücken des Museums. Griechenlands Forderungen zur Rückgabe sind bisher ergebnislos geblieben.
Die griechische Tragödie kreiste um schicksalhafte Verstrickungen, Schuld, Destruktion und Zerstörung mit der Absicht der Katharsis.

The protagonists wear papier mâché garments, which imitate the vestures of the "Elgin Marbles". "Elgin Marbles" are fragments of figural groups found on the Parthenonfrieze of the Acropolis. These fragments were factually stolen by Lord Elgin, a British ambassador in 1801; he sold them to the British National Museum and today they belong to its most famous collection pieces.The culture, especially the architecture of Ancient Greece, was often cited in European history. Massive pillars, stable triangular pediments, hermetic structure and strict symmetry symbolize importance, safety and prosperity. This architecture also refers to the ideal and ever lasting Greek culture. The later European temple architecture of cathedrals, banks, government buildings and museums confirmed in an special way the existing social order, the dominant distribution of capital and the universal ideals of art. It has influenced the appearance of the centres of European cities until today.
The artists use a similar kind of decayed temple architecture as a stage and remind the viewer in their performance of classical Greek tragedy actors. The ancient tragedy deals with fateful entanglements, guilt and destruction aiming at catharsis. In cultural history, it was often used as a projection surface for a critique of the existing conditions, as a metaphor for impending disasters and the powerlessness of the individual in the structures of the system.The work "Tempelreinigung" circles around the alternative issue of the possibility of safety and destruction in Europe today.