Natalie Gut­ge­sell

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In one picture a woman can be seen who is sitting at a table on a lonely beach and seems to be waiting for someone, because the seat next to her on the right is not taken. She seems to search someone, but no one appears. A waitress brings an empty tea cup, a ship in a bottle, a wine-glass, a dress, a knife. A dancer is moving about inside a cylinder of red cloth in a window, prior to which a skirt can be seen fluttering there.

In another picture a man can be seen who is sitting at a table on a lonely beach and seems to be waiting for someone, because the seat next to him on the left is not taken. He also seems to search someone, but no one appears. A waitress brings an empty tea cup, a ship in a bottle, a wine-glass, a suit, a knife. A dancer is moving about inside a cylinder of white cloth in a window, prior to which a pullover can be seen fluttering there.

In the third picture you see a table laid for two persons. Gradually the set menu changes, the elegant dinner table turns into a banquet, and in the end there are just leftovers and bones, and glasses are lying on their sides on the table.

In the course of history vanitas, transitoriness, was represented in still-life paintings with  certain objects and motives. They symbolized death and the end, by e.g. a skull, rotten fruit or an hour-glass in which the sand slowly filters through.

Terminal can be seen as the end of the road, as something final, a last borderline. Vein is the place through which the blood moves, and it´s the medium of circulation. Does it definitely have vain, idle, mean and transitory traits, too? Vain? Maybe the transitory pulsates in itself and because of itself? Many things are transitory, because they carry on living.

Often relationships between people are continued during a long period of time because of various unimportant reasons. Automatisms are created,  and decades later you finally decide to break it up nevertheless.

Then each part is often worn out and broken, and the pulse of one´s own circulation seems to have lost it´s energy. But the sand is flowing. The music of the installation underlines the advancing of transitoriness. In the beginning the table still seems to be orderly fixed, the music, however, is solemn, but a bit sad.

After everything is settled and ended, the mood is relaxed and nearly joyful, which is also expressed by the music.

An end can carry in itself the movement of a new beginning.

Cinematography: Johannes Wiedermann, Composer: Henrik Cordes

Woman: Melanie Haupt, Man: Matthias Schott

www.nataliegutgesell.de