La mécanique-Die Mechanikerin (The Female Mechanic), 2001-2003

Time-based video installation, single-channel, garage with toller door, Vehicle registration office Munich, 2,60 x 2,95 x 3,70 m, DV, 16:9, color, sound, ca. 20 individual scenes, total length approx. 30′

The site of La mécanique is the entrance to the Motor Vehicle Bureau registration area. The garage is already visible from outside. Upon entering, visitors stand immediately in front of the garage door, which opens on the hour and half-hour to offer views of the interior. La mécanique, then, is the mechanic (together with assistants) inside the garage, who gladly acquaints visitors to the Motor Vehicle Bureau with her knowledge of motor vehicles and of the bizarre relationship between human and auto. The scenes themselves, which are projected onto the rear wall of the garage, are realized cinematically with Barbara Rudnik in the title role. Foreshortened garage space and virtual image fuse into a scene endowed with the effect of reality.

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