Übersetzungen 01 (Belz)
Installation, 700 x 200x 30 cm
2020

While in Chemnitz (DE), where I was taking part in the Dialogfelder residency, I made a series of (mainly) collaborative works based on sculptures and texts from the GDR era. The works are all attempts at instigating a dialogue between past and present.

One of the works is a silicone cast of the relief Kampf und Sieg der revolutionären Deutschen Arbeiterklasse (1976), by Johann Belz.

Belz won a competition to make a monumental public sculpture. During the making process, sketch after sketch was refused for being “insufficiently socialist”. Being under a lot of pressure, and already having spent the money for the commission, Belz ended up making an artwork which was very different from his original design. Belz fell into a depression, and sadly did not live to see the finished result (it was finished after his death by his colleagues)

After long and wonderful talks with his widow, Sonja Belz (who is an amazing artist in her own right), I decided to make this mold as a memorial for the artist.

I thank Sonja Belz deeply for her openness and support. I would also like to thank Irene Hug, Peter Schultz and Matthias Kulutacs for their help, Dialogfelder, Klub Solitaer e.V., the City of Chemnitz, Knut Dietz, Emma Dietrich and everyone who supported me.

I wrote an essay about my working period in Chemnitz for Metropolis M

Dutch: http://www.metropolism.com/nl/features/42144_een_mal_van_het_verleden_kunstenaar_sem_bekirovi_over_het_maakproces_van_haar_uebersetzungen_vertaalslagen

English: http://www.metropolism.com/en/features/42144_an_impression_of_the_past_artist_sem_bekirovi_on_the_making_of_uebersetzungen_translations

The cast I made is much bigger than the part shown here (the exhibition place was to small to show the complete relief). Hopefully I’ll get the chance to show it all one day).

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