9 Garden cabin. In conversation with Mandy Gehrt

→ dt. Version


Fig.: “dreaming backwards”, façade detail, Kunstraum Praline, 2020

Mandy, in 2020 you were invited to realize an artistic work at the Kunstraum Praline. The installation “dreaming backwards” was opened by a sticker with a fossilized wooden structure on the façade of the building. Through the large window you could see old chairs whose seat cushions and backrests you had covered with photographic images of allotment gardens. A strawberry plant protruded from a washbasin, the floor was covered with white-yellowish powder. The chairs stood around in disarray or hanging at an angle in the air. What moment did you freeze there?

At the time of the realization of this work, I had dealt with the lignite region in and around Leipzig and, among other things, had visited allotment gardens in the small town of Kitzscher near Leipzig. There I came across numerous relicts of the lignite industry. For example, fossil wood was often used as a decorative element. Many former workers in open-cast mining took finds such as shark teeth and other fossils home with them from work. This can still be found today on and in the houses in these places.
The identity of the city and the region around Leipzig, which is situated on a seam of brown coal, is strongly characterized by this industry. Many places around Leipzig developed into cities because of the lignite industry. The importance of Leipzig as a former major industrial location is based on its dependence on the resources of the surrounding area on the open-cast mining industry in the region. This identity-forming characteristic can still be found in the fossil elements and narratives to this day, for example of black (coal dust) and yellow (sulphur) snow.

Today the entire region has changed dramatically due to deindustrialization. Many small towns are suffering from emigration. In Kitzscher, supposedly the town with the most children in the GDR, has seen its population halved today. Leipzig, however, is growing, and this shows dependence on the surrounding area, which has now become an attractive “Speckgürtel” (wealthy suburban area).
I am interested in the relationship between city and countryside and the identity of places. The building of the Kunstraum Praline reminded me of the garden cabins in the allotment gardens in Kitzscher and I decided to bring the results of my research into the city.


fig.: “dreaming backwards”, view through the window, Kunstraum Praline, 2020

You have developed this work further and used it both in Leipzig and in Kitzscher.

I came across a collection of tubular steel chairs from a GDR canteen that had lost their function and were now lying around in an attic. I gutted these chairs, painted them and fitted them with new wood onto which I applied printed PVC. The seats and backrests show images of fossilized wood from the former open-cast mine in various places in Kitzscher, e.g. as decorative objects in front gardens and allotment gardens, as a small wall on Steigerstraße and as a “monument” on the market square.
During the “Kunst am Markt” project initiated by me and our association Kulturbahnhof e.V. in Kitzscher (2021), in which I and other artists took part in, I provided this work under the title “miners rest”, consisting of three tables and twelve chairs, for the events. The visitors sat on and around this furniture during the readings and tastings. This had an “aha” effect, and many felt that this interest in the history of the villages was appreciative. Some guessed where the places depicted were located.
I transported the furniture to Leipzig again in 2022 and integrated them into the “meeting point” in the Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig, a platform for exchange with Ukrainians. The tables and chairs were given a new function again, namely as an offer for dialog and exchange. And they also convey the history of the region.

This was not your first artistic intervention in Kitzscher. For years you have been very active as an artist, curator and director of the Kulturbahnhof e.V. association in the Leipzig region. What is the reason for your interest in rural areas?

I have worked with the Kulturbahnhof e.V. association in recent years on many artistic projects in Kitzscher, Rötha/Espenhain, Borsdorf and Regis-Breitingen, among others. Numerous artists have been invited to engage with the respective locations. The focus is on artistic research concerning the recent history and current situation of the region.
It is my great concern to think directly about the educational aspects. For me these artistic formats are also democracy work. I see a strong connection between cultural and democratic education. In places where – in addition to a lack of career prospects – cultural and meeting places disappear, anti-democratic attitudes grow. There is a painful loss of cinemas, cultural venues, dance halls and restaurants. This has consequences.


fig.: “miners rest”, chairs and tables at “Kunst am Markt”, Kitzscher 2021

How would you describe your position as an artist and cultural worker from the city?

We don’t find a specific art audience in the countryside. We reach and confront very different people in small towns with various topics. The art thus gains visibility outside the conventional scene. In small towns, it is definitely seen, and everyone realizes that something is happening. But you shouldn’t just go there and do something. Of course, there is often this UFO effect. However, the initial resentment stops as soon as the residents realize that we are really interested in their stories. Works that deal with the place and the people who live there work best.
We don’t want to indoctrinate, but we want to reach people. I therefore want the invited artists to work in a participatory way and that their work becomes publicly visible. They should also live in the locations during the research and production. We try to solve communication problems with public events. I also find it exciting for the artists to leave their comfort zones.

During the project “Kunst am Markt” Ingeborg Lockemann, for example, dealt with the employment biographies of women in Kitzscher and showed historical photographs from the archive of the Borna Museum in the empty windows of the shopping street. The resulting brochure was very popular and soon not available anymore.
The “Cooking without money” and “Tasting Kitzscher” by artist Grit Ruhland at the market enjoyed great popularity. Fruit from Kitzscher was pressed into juice, herbal teas and snacks were mixed from local plants. Roswitha von den Driesch and Jens-Uwe Dyffort attached small boxes to the lanterns on the market square, which used pictures and sound to remember “lost places” such as the cinema, the open-air stage or the zoo. These approaches and working methods are characteristic of our artistic project series.


fig.: “The men weren’t quite ready back then”, Ingeborg Lockemann, “Art at the market”, Kitzscher 2021

The rural areas in Saxony are not an easy place to work. The approach of democracy work certainly presents you and your association certainly with immense and possibly increasing challenges. What difficulties do you face as an artist and project manager?

You have to take all the local players into account. The responsibility is somehow higher. Dealing with some local residents in Saxony is actually not always easy. We experienced situations, where people observe us, there was graffiti on artistic works and sometimes unpleasant discussions. I have also had to refer to the constitution to draw boundaries. It’s not uncommon to come across anti-democratic attitudes here. We work with those who accept us and these are people with democratic attitudes.
Unfortunately, the mood also has an influence on the choice of topics. Also the administrative apparatus in the district is sometimes reluctant to talk publicly about certain grievances. Certain topics are perceived as damaging to the image and reputation. I’ll just mention the example of the situation of refugees in the Leipzig region. The critical examination of the housing situation in a shared accommodation in a small town near Leipzig, for example, led to complicated discussions with the district administration. As a small cultural association, we depend on funding, and disagreements with the administration can feel quite threatening to our existence. But we want to work on a long-term and sustainable manner. This is only possible in cooperation with all the players in the region. There are places where this works better, but there are also places where it doesn’t work well.

Thank you very much for the interview.


fig.: “Cooking without money”, Grit Ruhland, “Kunst am Markt”, Kitzscher 2021

A series of talks by Ex_Praline and publisher Trottoir Noir, 2023
Yvonne Anders in conversation with Mandy Gehrt

Editors: Yvonne Anders and Marcel Raabe