Photos: Achref Guesmi
STATEMENT
“Passages” acts as an open door, offering a fleeting glimpse into the dynamics of urban exchange. This digital creation draws inspiration from her experiences in Tunis, particularly through her participation in the Interference Light Art Festival. The work resonates with her installation Re: Mixed, where negative spaces mirror the structural framework of a bridge’s elements. A hallmark of Gudrun’s work is her focus on the contrast between black and white, a visual interplay that becomes a defining feature. By reducing her color palette, she sharpens the emphasis on form, rhythm, and contrast, allowing these aspects to take precedence in the viewer’s perception. The video installation “Passages” was filmed in two distinct moments, one aboard a moving train traveling from La Marsa to Tunis along the historic TGM railway, which links the capital to its northern suburbs via La Goulette, and the other during a Sunday morning at 6 a.m. in Cologne. Through these recordings, Gudrun delves into new ways of creating art that intimately engage with her environment, fully immersing herself in the surroundings to capture their essence.
Photos: Gudrun Barenbrock
BACKGROUND
Gudrun Barenbrock has been invited to join the INTERFERENCE exhibition program in summer 2022, and in autumn 2022, she returned to Tunis to join the MISE EN LUMIERE program — celebrating pioneering women in Tunisian culture and history.
In 2023, she developed the idea for the artists exchange program jointly with Aymen Gharbi and Bettina Pelz. She fueled the support of the Cologne-Tunis Twin City Association and became a member.
She worked closely with the cultural office and the international office of the City of Cologne to generate the framework for the program ON PLINY’S PATH.
She activated all her network in Cologne to provide insights in artistic practice and artists networks, learning about the art and culture institutions, and understanding the cultural evolution from past to present.
PROJECTS
2023 Cologne / Tunis, ON PLINY’S PATHS #1: Project Leader