Save Me a Place – an exhibition on architectural and social spaces

18.09.2024

with Oliver Schuß, Lynn Al-Abiad and architecture by Uwe Schröder

Vernissage on 19.09.2024, 7 p.m.
Exhibition period: 20.09. – 13.10.2024
Open every Saturday and Sunday, 12 – 18 o’clock and by arrangement (inquiries to info@leflash.de)

Save Me a Place is divided into two thematic areas that show architectural and social spaces and involve the residents of the exhibition venue. The exhibition venue is the Prager Höfe by the architect Uwe Schröder, which can be found not far from the Auerberger Mitte in Bonn. The two courtyards connect to form a shared living space, which, through the architectural connections - from the ceiling, the courtyards to the central communal basement - enables the individual to come together, from which a collective life emerges. Everyday sounds of the residents are transported through the basement and an 'art room' that connects the three levels of each house with a spiral staircase. Solitary and individual living in the houses fluctuates between distance & closeness and privacy & intimacy. The exhibition shows two artists on the architectural and social themes in the central basement, which runs parallel to the communal courtyard. The presentation is complemented by a sound installation that emerges as a collective work of the residents.

The architectural spaces are taken up by the works of Oliver Schuß, who shows wall objects made of steel and works specially developed for the location in the inner courtyard. The wall objects vary in a handy (portrait) format and are distinguished by their individual proportions and colors, but remain recognizable as related to one another through their basic shape. With slits, openings and breaks in the surfaces of the works, he encourages visitors to experience new perspectives and reflect on usual points of view. His works stand alone and yet fit into the space with which they correspond. As part of the exhibition, this stimulates visitors' thoughts about where they are geographically, but also what connections there are to the other rooms. For this purpose, sight lines to the art rooms in the individual apartments are made accessible.

The social space that allows and encourages coexistence through the connecting architecture of the Prague courtyards is taken up in Lynn Al-Abiad's series of works. Her photographs show sections of her home in Beirut. Images of the interior and surroundings show a life that takes place in private and public spaces, with which she has an intimate relationship. Even though they have different layers, she sees her works above all as an invitation into her home. The photographs convey a closeness to the place and to the people depicted, who are sometimes more clearly recognizable, sometimes more unclearly, and leave room for individual references. The invitation to the artist's home can be understood as a counterpart to the invitation to the private rooms of the Prague courtyards, which are accessible during the exhibition.

About the artists:
Oliver Schuß (*1985, lives and works in Bonn and Karlsruhe) studied painting and graphics at the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe under Prof. Meuser (2005 - 2011). His work to date includes the media of drawing and sculpture. The wall objects, mostly made of painted steel, pose questions about the understanding of perspective and invite viewers to experience spatiality in a new way. They formulate basic geometric shapes and break them up using kinks, bends, notches and perforations. Due to the curvature of the material, the objects lean from the wall into the room, creating shadows that draw the concrete object into abstraction. He has been regularly represented in exhibitions since 2009 and most recently exhibited in Offenburg and Munich (both in 2024). In 2023 he most recently won the NEUSTARTplus work scholarship, which is awarded by the Stiftung Kunstfonds.

Lynn Al-Abiad (*1995, lives and works in Cologne) studied Cinema and Audiovisual Directing at the L'Academie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts in Beirut and is currently studying at the Cologne Art Academy (KHM), with a focus on photography. Her series of works always have a personal connection and depict places, people and nature. In doing so, she reveals privacy and memories that lie in her immediate surroundings as well as in her hometown of Beirut. The theme of home is omnipresent in her work and is treated in different ways. In addition to different places, she also creates references to nature, which she sees as the home of every person. The artist has exhibited her series of works at the Case Project Space in Cologne, among other places.

Curated by Leonie Cecilia Pietrovicci

Photographs of art/architecture can be found in the documents attached below.

The exhibition is sponsored and supported by:
Student Union University of Bonn, Student Parliament Uni Bonn, Le Flash – The cultural magazine from the Rhineland