DANA MELAVER

It began with a map of a Telegraph network, and an image crept into my mind. I imagined a building in which the windows connected to each other like a switch-board or modular synthesizer. From then it became a collection of images, photographed with a smartphone around the former East Berlin: Alexanderplatz, Treptow, and Marzahn. I then printed each building and mounted it on kapa, fitting together a three-dimensional collage. After wiring the windows together, in line with the telegraph network – each window representing a different city – I photographed the piece with a large format camera. This image was then split into fourteen windows and then each window was broken down into smaller images (around eighty rectangles per window). In the two weeks leading up Localize Festival 2022 (July), artist and friend Anna Rezzolla helped cut and adhere the micro-pieces back together, to create the base for each window. Finally, I painted each of the fourteen pieces with multiple layers of the transfer gel and hung them up. Inside the office, a final image was visible. On the outside, the office was wrapped in paper.

During the span of three days, visitors were invited to wet the paper and rub it away, in order to reveal the translucent image. Together, we created a three-day long, collaborative performance, in which the complete image was slowly revealed. Anyone could also play with the internal blinds, band by that changing the experience of the piece and process. The office itself became an art office, with tools and supporting objects used throughout the process, including work overalls, scissors, misters, and a GDR radio.

Much of the paper removed has been collected in the hopes of making new paper from the remains.

In October of the same year, the recovered photo-releases were connected to create a single, 5-meter long print. This work, along with remnant from the entire process were displayed as part of "RE-" at SomoS Berlin, curated by Nicole Beck.

As the days went on, I began to think that maybe this piece was about windows. On the third day, I hung my head out the window to speak with two of the other participating artists. Over the weeks of working on site, we become a small artist village, sharing tools, food, and encouragement. While I spoke through the window, visitors rubbed paper away from the office windows and played with the blinds, hiding and revealing the process. A visitor on the inside of the office tapped the glass, and one from the outside found his hand. Through the image, they found each other.

I spent the month working on Telegrafenberg thinking it was about networks; how they connect people, but also that there are always the individuals who determine the paths. Suddenly, it occurred to me that while the wires in my photograph that connect windows to each other represent an unnecessary system. We are already connected to each other – we just have to open the windows.