Swinda Oelke
Echo, 2024
Eichenmüllerhaus, Kunstverein Lemgo, 24.03.24 - 28.04.24
The exhibition Echo at Eichenmüllerhaus, the Kunstverein in Lemgo, consists of a series of films in which Oelke deals with historical events, their temporal and spatial dimensions, and their current forms of visibility. The recordings examine various places in the cityscape of Lemgo, addressing their links to the witch hunts. Between 1509 and 1681, at least 250 people fell victim to this form of systematic patriarchal violence in the small Westphalian town – 80 percent of the people accused were women. All the sites included in Oelke’s films refer to this topic directly or indirectly, whether they have lost all traces of their history, are trying to reflect upon the past, or are affirming historic events. The square called Regenstorplatz, the cellar of the Eichenmüllerhaus, the Hexenbürgermeisterhaus (house of the witch- mayor), the city archive, and the restaurant Hexen Pizza (witch pizza) all bear some relation to the history of witch hunts. The nature of these connections and their current visibility, however, could barely be more different. For example, Regenstorplatz is a key location in the history of the Lemgo witch hunts: it is where people who were accused of witchcraft were burned at the stake. Others were drowned in the nearby river Bega during the so-called Wasserproben (ordeals by water), a procedure intended to substantiate suspicions of witchcraft against them. Today, the Regenstorplatz is an unassuming car park. Drawings of scenes of torture are still visible on the cellar walls of the Eichenmüllerhaus, which serves as a storage room for the exhibition space above. One of the videos in the exhibition depicts these gruesome images of violence against alleged witches, the drawings almost hidden behind stored tools, ladders and plinths in the cellar. The building now known as the Hexenbürgermeisterhaus, which is used as a museum, originally served as the residence of the former mayor of Lemgo, Hermann Cothmann, who was responsible for most of the persecutions and murders. The city archive is central to the process of critically examining these crimes, while the restaurant Hexen Pizza attempts to look back on history in a humorous way. It is an example of the attempt to positively appropriate the motif of the witch in Lemgo, almost as if it were branding. By recontextualising the videos and the places they depict in the exhibition space, Oelke interweaves historical references with contemporary locality in Echo, creating an awareness of the historical complexity of our everyday environment.
The examination of temporality is complemented by an exploration of the limits and possibilities of the moving image medium and the camera itself. A central element to all the videos is a doublesided mirror, suspended in front of the camera lens and set into motion, rotating due to the air circulation at the location of filming. Thisprovides the viewer with a panoramic view of the documented space, which, depending on the amount of air movement at the site, cuts through the video – either quickly or slowly, sometimes sharply and clearly, other times blurred and almost abstract. Not only is the camera’s linear line of vision visible, but the image is also extended by new, random perspectives made possible by the mirror. Different perspectives collide, flow into one another, and ultimately melt into one. The camera’s linear reality, often perceived as absolute, competes with the images of the mirror, which assumes a counterpoint position
to the lens.
to the lens.
Text: Marie-Luiza Georgi
Translation: Lucy Nixon