Sichtvermerke

  • Text by Jule Claudia Mahn in German.
  • Handset. Zincography, alugraphy, handoffset and letterpress printed on Neobond paper.
  • Boards. Box with twenty books and one map.
  • Size of one book: 13 × 9,5 cm with 10 pages.
    Unfolded map: 125,5 × 73 cm.
  • Edition of 10 copies.
  • Halle, 2008.

The Russian transit route runs through the small Latvian town of Ogre and further on to the freeports of Ventspils and Riga. In the distance one can hear the loud and rumbling sounds of passing freight trains; the journey of movement from one unknown place to another is ever-present.

The passports are a collection of my observations gathered in Ogre. Every passport tells its own unique story, disconnected from what seems one entirety. One will never be able to express Ogre as a whole. But can we actually name something that we cannot grasp? Sichtvermerke points to a disappearing world that cannot be mapped. They are the steady companion of every one of us looking to belong in ever-changing times.

About the title: »Sichtvermerke« has a double meaning. Firstly, it is the German word for visa, the stamp you get on entering another country. It also means the documentation or a note of what you have seen.

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