Einschüsse, or bullet-holes, eroding with the passage of time, new construction, and weather, yet they signify human misdirection; these are physical traces of human discord. Greyscale removed, they appear as pock marked craters recalling impact of cosmic connection, chaotic constellations that we collude to coordinate, intrusion, or map and record of history’s violence and stoppage. These new works by Blixa Bargeld are poignant here in Tokyo. As we try to forget the traumas of WWII, small unobtrusive reminders re-emerge from the detritus of an inconvenient past, and force us to consider the impact of history, calling into question our national beliefs, assumptions and comfort. Shown in conjunction with ongoingserialbathroomdummyrun, we can view the micro/macro vision and how external living resembles our own and vice-versa. As patterns emerge we are able to focus on specifics that give greater understanding to this world we inhabit.

These specific bullet holes are taken from five buildings located in the gallery district of Berlin Mitte, which is not unlike this Shitamachi region of Tokyo where elements of barbed wire— we lack visible bomb and gun craters— allude to a less than savory past. Different building materials highlight the difference of recording devices, stone, wood, and to these photographs. Both locations are churning traces of the past to an abstract history with less evidence and more abstraction.
- Berlin, 10.9.2011

Blixa Bargeld takes pictures of bullet holes in the walls of five houses of the Berliner so called Gallery Quarter (Berlin Mitte). These holes remain from the late 2. World War, from the trench warfare/ house-to-house fights(?). Obviously most of the traces have been gone, since the buildings have been renovated, so there are only a few of these walls to find now.

The idea is to process the pictures and to take all grey notes out of them. Most of the image will not appear after grey has been taken out. What remains on the picture are the bullet holes, maybe a tree or a cable. That could look like the constellation of stars, some kind of a firmament or just an unknown geographical area.

It is a pretty symbol charged project. These holes will be gone in some time, the traces of the (dangerous and brutal) past are blurry now and in a way ungraspable and abstract. You could read the project as a reversed version of the fading time. The bullet holes stay, but the walls are not visual anymore...--

* The text provided by Motus Fort.

Period: Thursday, September 29 - Saturday, November 5, 2011
Venue: Motus Fort
Artist's reception: Thursday, September 29, 2011, 18:00 - 21:00