Chickens on the bend
2015
Baruth, Brandenburg
Hühner in der Kurve
Winner steps: steel, MDF, foil numbers, 94 x 185 x 67cm; on loan from the stock car autocross club “MC Baruth”. Cover: white truck tarpaulin, recycled, 94x185x67cm. Grandstand: pine, wire mesh, 210 x 450 x 120cm, 3 chickens, 1 cockerel, dwarf New Hampshire, feeder, on loan from Norbert Weißhuber, Baruth, Golßen Poultry Breeding Club. Finish line: asphalt spray paint, 305 x 8cm.
Chicken on the Bend was created as part of the exhibition “Ortsumgehung” (bypass road),
Art Association Old School Baruth
When asked what is going on in a village that at first glance – and not just in relation to its former bypass – seems to be standing still or acting in secret, I noticed the numerous entries in the local register of associations. What anglers, marksmen, tractor enthusiasts, small animal breeders and bowlers have in common is that they create semi-public events that revolve around the ritualization of competition. The event of the competition presentation – shooting festival, poultry show or car race – is the brief moment in which the activities of the association move from latency into the public sphere.
“Chickens on the bend” shows artifacts of two club activities with such a competitive character, again in a still, latent form.
On one side of the street, concealed under a custom-made cover, is the winner’s podium of a local autocross club. Opposite it are the prize-winning chickens of a Baruth pedigree poultry farmer, housed in a shed that doubles as a grandstand. As a third element, a finish line marked on the road connects the grandstand and the winner’s steps.
Analogous to the disused road, the “activities” on the bypass are concealed – as artifacts of a potential or past action.
