Finderlohn (2024)
Finderlohn
Public art intervention, engraving on linoleum and MDF , 2 x 1,7m
Exhibition "Adler für Alle", Galerie Adlershof, 2024
A 96-piece jigsaw puzzle was distributed in Adlershof. The lost puzzle pieces must now find their way back to the gallery.
On the back of each piece was an inventory label– property of the Galerie Adlershof, and thus of the District Council of Treptow-Köpenick– and a request to return the piece by July 20th, the “second opening” of the exhibition, when multiple participatory projects reached a final form. Residents, workers and visitors who found the pieces in the most varied spots were thus asked to come to the gallery.
By bringing the piece to the marked location in the gallery, strangers find themselves in the exhibition - and become part of it. The neighborhood comes into the art institution not in search of art, but to return lost property. The physical artwork- a drawing of an Adlershofer landscape finely engraved on linoleum- comes together by chance and collaborative generosity. As a social performance, Finderlohn operates as a test of the goodwill and social consideration of the neighbors in Adlershof.
In return for their diligence, finders were offered a finder’s reward, the titular Finderlohn: a ticket to an exhibition in one of the most important, paid contemporary art spaces in Berlin, including KW, Hamburger Bahnhof, C/O, Berliner Festspiele, and Fotografiska. The reward extends the gesture of the work itself: bringing people who may not feel addressed by contemporary art to actually see and experience these works.
All the locations where pieces were placed were mapped, and the puzzle, in whatever completeness, as well as the map with the numbered sites were revealed in the gallery by the date of the 2nd opening.
The work emerged as a response to the gallery’s plea to connect more with the neighborhood. Many museums, galleries and institutions seek– or even claim to connect with their surroundings, hoping to attract local visitors through advertisement and community activities. However, people often assume they cannot understand or are not addressed by contemporary art, sensing a threshold of education and discourse required to navigate these spaces. The work ironizes the institution’s efforts to attract people through inherent interest while fulfilling its goals through a radical and playful act of chance exposure.
The puzzle displayed an image of Adlershof from the perspective of pigeons– the ubiquitous bird that might represent the people better than the eagle (Adler) featured in the name of the neighborhood. It was hand-drawn and then laser-engraved on linoleum matching the gallery floor. Each piece is a double board of linoleum on 50mm MDF, numbered and labeled.
Many thanks to Ohlwein for the linoleum and the good advice. Many thanks to KW, Fotografiska, Hamburger Bahnhof, C/O, and Akademie der Künste for their generous ticket donations.
I will gladly repeat this piece wherever there is a wish to connect with the neighborhood– and to bring in lightness to this guilt-ridden social pursuit.