Berlin – New York Tunnel

The idea of collaborating on a piece across the Atlantic with people we do not know, and moreover, do not know if we can rely on them or their aesthetic, was both exciting and a little terrifying. Who are the people I am working with? How big is the time difference? How will I coordinate working across the world with my own schedule? — were probably one of the more frequent questions we all had in the beginning. Our team decided to work collaborative across the ocean and to make this procedure of getting closer the core of our project. As a result, we built a conceptual tunnel across the ocean.

The tunnel was compressing the geographical distance into a photograph, an endless tunnel of experiences and explorations. We have set a number of rules with which each member has to work with regardless of their position in the world. First, we had to photograph ourselves and send the photo to each other in a specific order. We decided to take the first photo in Germany, send it to the US and bring it back to Germany – the time difference made the entire experience much more exciting. Secondly, we had to include the previous photo in the new one any way we could. That means using paper, laptops, phones, projectors, or Skype cameras. We had to photograph ourselves between working on final projects, flights to Texas, gallery openings – however we could as long as the chain is not broken. To embed information that bring us closer, we included personal details and spaces in the photos. Might this be it kitchens, studios, walls covered with chalk from a party, our backyards, any place that will give a glimpse to our everyday lives and routines.

Thus, we not only created a trans-Atlantic artwork, but also a documentation, or a testament, of the beginning of our relationship as artists and designers. Our work that serves as a catalyst to the entire Berlin – New York project for the three artists involved.

The Berlin – New York Tunnel is done in collaboration with Philipp Tögel (Berlin) and Žarko Dumičić (New York) and was a Digital Class projekt at Berlin University of the Arts, that is supervised through Professor Joachim Sauter and Professor Jussi Ängeslevä.