expulsion

2009

site-specific installation: composition for German voices reading passages from Goethe; 39 volumes of Goethe’s writings published in Germany in 1942; suspended wall with pages from Goethe’s volume 40 (Faust II) mounted onto its surface; ink and water leaking through the holes made in the book pages; pumping system activated via electric sensors triggered by the proximity of viewers; single-channel video based on performance

live performance: the artist lies on top of 39 volumes of Goethe’s writings, inhaling and spitting black fluid resembling ink, marking the pages of the open books with stains and traces as her body gradually moves through the surfaces of the volumes; a camera suspended from above films the action; aerial view of the live performance can be seen on a monitor installed in a different area of the room

self-shot photography based on performance, limited edition, 3 + 2AP

single-channel video and sound, limited edition, 3 + 2 AP

*Expulsion*, 2009, close up view of the suspended wall with pages from Goethe mounted onto its surface, punctuated with orifices through which ink and water leaks, activated by a sensor reacting to the proximity of the viewer

*Expulsion,* 2009. View of the suspended wall with pages from Goethe mounted onto its surface, punctuated with orifices through which ink and water leaks, activated by a sensor reacting to the proximity of the viewer

below: documentation of the artist’s performance at ConcentArt, Berlin, 2009

Credits

composed, written, choreographed, performed, filmed and edited by Monika Weiss

movement performer: Monika Weiss

speaking voices: Barbara Caveng, Heiko Daxl, Andreas Matthias Grimm, Max Hannes, Anna Hope, Cordula Hufnagel, Ralf Niebuhr, Christoph Rasch, Bele Papperitz-Hannes, Wolfgang Strankowski, Jens Umlauf

special thanks to Georgi Begun, curator and director, ConcentArt, Berlin and to Media in Motion, Berlin

Artist Statement

In my recent work lament represents the moment of breaking of the speech and breaking of any possibility of re-presentation, and consequently, the moment of facing the loss of meaning. In my project Expulsion, gallons of black ink mixed with water pour continuously, triggered by presence of random passersby, thanks to an electric sensor installed behind the artificially constructed wall. Pages from Faust II by Goethe, published in 1942 (Volume 40) are mounted on the wall and seem to leak. The tiny holes made in the book pages allow the ink to pour very slowly, perhaps like tears, creating a gradually growing dark puddle on the ground. This and other recent works with book pages and with historical materials and sites, relate to my interest in the construction of the archive. Both drawing and lament assume a form of expression, which is excluded or expelled from language—the latter understood as a system or design of meaning in relation to event. As a loss of language, lament is the drawn mark that traverses the flat surface of the archive.

- Monika Weiss, Performing the Drawing – Performing Lament in Public Domain, PSIAX: Estudos e Reflexões sobre Desnho e Imagem, 2017

Exhibitions

(Im) Material Art, ConcentArt, Berlin, 2009

Publications

Drawing in the University Today, PSIAX: Estudos e Reflexões sobre Desnho e Imagem, 2017