2, PASSAT, in conversation with Ina Weise

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Ina Weise and Christian Göthner (lfm² Leipzig), 2021

You showed up in a VW Passat in the Saxon region. On the roof a huge lettering discreetly pointed out that inside the car you could visit an EXHIBITION. Where have you been so far? What was there to see?

We were in Dresden in an area of community gardens and at the Riverside, in Meißen, in Espenhain and in Lorenzkirch. We had to drive carefully and slowly because of the high structure, it was quite a wobbly affair. It also made me realize how many things are stretched across roads. Most of the time, the Passat with the installed lettering stood in prominent places. The original idea of developing this traveling installation with Christian Göthner from lfm² Leipzig was expanded into an exhibition concept in the car. I invited seven artists to create or provide works on the theme of mobility, standstill and acceleration for the interior of the car.

As an "art delivery service”, you bring artistic works to places where they would otherwise probably never appear. Why did you want to be present in the countryside, in villages? Do you rely on random audiences that do not consist of typical visitors to contemporary exhibition venues?

I have been dealing with public space for a long time because of the diverse feedback. Impressions are often expressed more directly, the audience often demands completely different explanations. I have to ask myself much more intensively: How do I actually explain this to them? During a two-month stay in Espenhain in 2018, I also came up with the idea of showing up in the parking lot in front of my house with an art car in addition to the Sparkasse, bakery and chicken barbecue cars that regularly appeared. The topic of mobility is also very central in rural, sometimes poorly connected regions. In urban areas, the car, which is now considered outmoded, is often still indispensable.


PASSAT on the road, 2021

What happened on site? Were there onlookers, the public?

Depending on the location, we were not perceived at all, as a UFO, a disruptive factor, or something different. Many cyclers possibly mistook the lettering for something like a trade fair advertisement and ignored it. The location in Meißen in front of the City Museum and the art association were more suitable, there was a lot of exchange with passers by. By the way, we received a positive feedback from institutions such as the Meißen City Museum and the Kunsthaus Dresden, who immediately invited us to come by after we asked. In general, many people did not dare to approach the car at first. In Espenhain, many residents watched the events from their windows. For us, we have expanded the concept of audience and include them among the visitors.

You yourself describe the situation as a "one-to-one" encounter with artworks in the intimate space of a Passat. It is indeed a small, quite intimate space. Personally, I always have to get over myself to get into other people's cars. How do you interact with your visitors? Do you stay in the car for a chat or do you talk to them in front of the car? How important is this point to you? Which constellations, encounters, conversations arise, how are the reactions?

I approached people directly and invited them to sit in the car. Children wanted to get behind the wheel. Some adults also sat down in the car and were in it for a really long time. Because of Corona and also the accessibility, all the doors were always open. Mostly I was asked about the Passat itself, about the year of manufacture or the engine. Cars of that time were a recurring topic. In my opinion, the few visitors in the intimate interior of the car perceive artworks more than in a crowded gallery space. But there were also skeptical reactions. "Is this paid by our tax money? Are you guys from the Green Party? I don't get it. I don't care." My thesis is that most people don't know that they are actually interested in. It needs a while, until then mostly interesting conversations about mobility, the environment, e-cars and the expansion of public transport develop. The artistic works were a good entry medium. The mediation was important and exhausting. The conversations ultimately turned out to be central to the whole work. I was saddened by aggressive reactions, I think that's a pity.
The artistic works deal with perceptions of acceleration, standstill and change. How important is the theme of mobility in the work?

We had conceived this from the outset for a non-art audience and selected works that might be more accessible. LandEscape #1 by Yoav Admoni, for example, shows a landscape in a cage and addresses the paradox of our longing for untouched nature and the destruction caused by our own actions. We destroy the landscape we desperately want to see and experience by driving there or enclosing it. The photo series Accident Cars by Amac Garbe was also a good conversation starter about, for example, junk cars that continue to drive around in other countries. Everyone is also familiar with the questionable fascination with horror car accidents. In the case of the bollard, lying on the back seat, the work Poller oder 1:0 by Marcus Große, some certainly suspected that someone had (illegally) gained access.


LandEscape #1 by Yoav Admoni, 2021

In general, being on the road was very difficult and only possible to a limited extent during the last months. In my case, sitting together with visitors in the car triggered a strong longing for trips to the Baltic Sea with friends. The possibility for artists to be exhibited at least in a car during the pandemic was gratefully accepted. This situation of those working in art and culture also met with understanding of an audience from other professional fields. The problematic situation was made visible beyond the horizons of the cultural scene.


Poller oder 1:0 by Marcus Große, 2021

A series of talks by Ex_Praline and Verlag Trottoir Noir, 2021
Yvonne Anders, conversation and editing; Marcel Raabe, editing
supported by Kulturamt Leipzig, digital small projects

pictures: Anja Schneider & Christian Göthner