The Bilker Bunker is showing DEMARKATION, a collection of mostly large-format photographic works by artist Stephan Kaluza. At first glance, these seem to be one thing: unpretentiously beautiful. But with further information—the reference to the place where the photographs were taken—and the former protective bunker as the exhibition venue, their ambiguity becomes apparent. What is ultimately illustrated is society's approach to time, memory, and also forgetting.
The photographs show places of human catastrophe: Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Verdun, among others. At first glance, the landscapes appear peaceful, insignificant. But the titles reveal a terrible history.
This is precisely where the exhibition comes in: it addresses the relationship between image, meaning, and memory. How do we look back today when places no longer bear any visible traces? And what future do we want to help shape from this?
