‣THREE QUESTIONS FOR SIMON WECKERT

What work did you develop for the dialogue fields?

Simon: “For the dialogue fields, I wanted to portray the citizens of Sonnenberg. I realised that you see new faces and meet new people every day when you walk around the Sonnenberg. I therefore wanted to create portraits of the Sonnenberg, which can then be seen as an installation.”

Do you notice any differences to other residencies now that you’ve been invited to a city with a personal connection?

Simon: “Definitely. You come into contact with people more quickly and also have a few more connections. Somehow I was back in relatively quickly. After the first two days, I already had the feeling that I had arrived well and was able to get started straight away. That was the biggest difference to other cities. Back then, I perceived Sonnenberg as a blatant Nazi mountain that I always gave a wide berth. Now I was amazed at how diverse the urban area is. I wanted to pursue this approach further. With the portraits, I want to show how much has changed compared to the Chemnitz of 10 or 15 years ago when I moved away.”

What can visitors expect from your presentation?

Simon: “In principle, it will be an installation that you have to spend a lot of time in front of. Ultimately, it will be a screen-based work. When you stand in front of the installation, you probably think it’s a portrait at first. If you stand in front of it for longer, you will see that the face slowly evolves and morphs from one face to another. I believe that the question can then arise as to how much change it takes to recognise a new person and what this triggers in the viewer.”