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Thursday, 29
The deeper window cleaning was not without consequences. The pain in my wrists and the numbness in my hands have started again. I thought the problem was already cured. In fact, I'm part of a group about the Carpal Syndrome on Facebook. More or less everyone there is talking about the importance of an operation. Nobody questions the cost. All those who have had an operation write that they regret not having had an operation earlier. It is not recommended to have an operation here in The Gambia as any type of operation is not recommended. But I also know of a Swiss doctor who had her uterus removed here (more than ten years ago) and who told me that this was not a problem at all. Anyway, I actually try to avoid any surgery. Sometimes I also have pain in my hips. My grandmother had it too and could live with it until she died. I prefer to live healthy and regularly go to the gym or do yoga.
Wednesday, 28
about the adversities of life
We are very susceptible to negative things. As soon as something is no longer the way it should be, we start arguing and looking for the culprit. Mostly it's the dogs. Like this morning. I hadn't even noticed when I was watering the plants. It wasn't until he came down that I saw the destruction. I tried to find an excuse for the dogs: "Maybe it was a different dog and that's why Yello barked so long this morning." "It was ours who did it," he grumbled. After all, he had been part of the team who had produced it, and then it hurts even more. Finally I tell him that there is still no reason to be rude to me. "That's why I didn't tell you last night as it happened." Of course it hit him and he didn't want to burden me with this frustration. Understand. In fact and irrevocably, it was our dogs that damaged at least 25 blocks.
Tuesday, 27
Today 215 blocks were produced (209 on Saturday). Without incident or discussion. I concentrated on cleaning windows. My head has been blank for the past few days. Sometimes I feel like my memory is no longer working properly.
Monday, 26
World Intellectual Property Day
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.
Sunday, 25
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Saturday, 24
Outburst of Emotion
The first blocks have been completed. As is usually the case when we have workers here, there was misunderstanding and, as always, I was the bad guy, the pure evil. The Toubab, which is basically somehow different, was once again not comme il faut because I said something, because I didn't understand something and wanted to know how it worked. But no, not like that, I don't do heavy physical work, so I have to keep my mouth shut. Who am I that I try to be part of and that I am human does not matter. That it is my project is insignificant. Never speak a lot, especially not as a woman. So I spent the day alone, guilty, excluded. And now, now everything is hushed up, everyone keeps dead quiet. Just a kind of crackling cold hovers in the air. How long will this last?
Friday, 23
(from my post at fb Art Space group)
Basilius Besler (1561-1629) - Corona Imperialis classe duplici, 1613
colored copper engraving
Thursday, 22
As I wrote a few weeks ago, my father is seriously ill. That's why I promised my parents to come to Hamburg in June. Now I've checked the Federal Ministry of Health's website. The Gambia is still a risk area and I would definitely have to be in quarantine for ten days, apart from various tests. I have to register digitally, which means I have to enter all flight details and my location so that I can be monitored. At the moment the roof construction is progressing very slowly and I cannot decide to book a flight and accept the quarantine. I am so sorry. I'll contact the consulate next week. Maybe they have a solution.
Wednesday, 21
Addentum ART SPACE
The option of having a coffee is still given as well as the chance to buy art works of international artists. The opening times also remain the same: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tuesday, 20
(from my notes) This day I mainly dedicated to the Department of State for the Interior (Immigration Office) to get my permit renewd. Long queues with frequent complaints about these people who come to the counter faster because they pay someone for it (not to forget that us also recently took advantage of this when renewing the Roadtax and our driver's licenses) challenged our patience. As is usually the case with such matters, Ous is so kind and accompanies me. Really a relief not to have to go through this alone. After repeatedly appearing in the office, where the documents are stamped and marked as approved, paying the amount due to my status A (Non-Ecowas Country), which is the most expensive, I finally end up in the room where a biometric photo and my fingerprints are taken. Two years ago I only received my Aliencard as a shrink-wrapped photocopy. No data was recorded on computers, only my document was placed in a folder. I actually wonder which is better, the handwritten or the digital filing and documenting. Of course, Gambia also wants to keep pace with digitization. Understandable. But I liked the old way. More developed often doesn't mean irrevocably better. I notice this when my iPhone has been updated. After that, handling is often more complicated, to name just one disadvantage. Last year I solely started the procedure by paying and filling in the questionnaire. But when they said I had to wait long and the officer in charge showed us the pile to be processed, I prefered to take my documents and told them I would come back another day. Because of lockdowns and other being prevented, I was unable to register in the computer. Well, I did it this year and can pick up my PVC Aliencard in two weeks. Cool!
Monday, 19
(from my post at fb Art Space group)
Ivo Hauptmann (1886-1973) - Plane Trees at the Lake, 1960, lithography, 52x67cm
Sunday, 18
(from my newsletters) The moment I read this text (see link), I remember the exhibition in the Antikenmuseum Basel, for which I was working at the time: Syria - Cradle of Cultures. November 4, 1999 - April 9, 2000. But contrary to the text, the exhibition only concerned the distant past. However, the article is about Lebanon.
The writing on the walls: Adonis, Ishtar and the terraces of Mount Lebanon by Rami Zurayk
Saturday, 17
(from fb TintintoHouse page) We welcome the ART SPACE and hope for frequent spiritual moments as well as intellectual and practical insights into the discourse about the necessity of art in contemporary times.
Friday, 16
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(from my notes) To be honest, there are certain moments, where I don't need a global closeness that is suddenly created by someone who drops in but actually is far away. Like ghosts, they invade my life and pretend to understand how it feels. Yes, these only can have a vague idea of the reality in which I am currently, the same as I can only anticipate something about their situation. Instead, there is an alleged involvement in something that only happens or appears on the screen of a device. What bothers me about it is especially the unexpected and the unplanned. When I answer a call, I don't know what to expect. You might now ask why I am answering in the first place, when I actually feel disturbed. Many people therefore never answer directly, but call back when it suits them. It is because I always suspect a reason behind. And this is where communication begins. It doesn't even have to be urgent. Even if it's just about keeping in touch, because that's how it continues.
Wednesday, 14
I felt very bad and guilty for not fasting. Yes, I even felt dirty. The one who fasts purifies himself. So this morning, still lying in bed, I decided to fast for at least a day. Very often people tell me that I should definitely try. At least for a few days or even just a day. I made it till 10 a.m., a thousand things went through my mind and I felt weak and without energy. I am neither a Muslim nor a Christian. I respect everyone for their beliefs. I have my own ideas that are not just related to one religion. There are things that interest me about Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism or the Rastafarian movement - especially their histories. Of course, most of my thoughts are independent of any religion and relate more to art and culture, music and theater, psychology and philosophy. This list is certainly unlimited. I told myself if I eat and drink now I don't have to feel bad and dirty. I will continue to stay focused and perhaps even work better. It's the first day at Art Space in Tujereng that I want to use for any kind of constructive activity. I have to break the fast early with a small breakfast. I apologize to all Muslims who are so strong and disciplined to pass this month of fasting with such dignity.
Tuesday, 13
Sand has been delivered, Ramadan has started. And mysterious things happen on the Tintinto compound. When I was clearing the place where the blocks will be made and placed, I found that one of our old broken pumps was missing. It's no big deal, of course, just a broken pump. But I still wonder. Because someone must have entered the site without authorization. Neither we nor the dogs noticed anything. Such a pump is heavy and weighs about 20 kg. Lifting it over the two meter high fence is not easy. It could have happened on a day when we went to the beach with the dogs. Then it must have been someone who is watching us and knows exactly when we are going out with the dogs. We talked about it and we both felt that both pumps were beyond repair. So why would anyone do such a thing? Why is this person not asking any of us if they can have one of the old pumps? Indeed, this story is inexplicable.
Monday, 12
(from my post at fb Art Space group)
Last day at the almost empty shop.
Preparing logo for the next location.
Sunday, 11
A very convincing statement by Hito Steyerl, which I found in my mailbox today via newsletter and which I reproduce here in English translation: Documentary works are not just copies, but appeals, role models, instructions, tutorials, even whole ethical treatises, with which attitudes to the world are proposed and be practiced.
Jolanda Wessel, KUNSTFORUM Band 273
Saturday, 10
(from my notes) It seems to me that we go through the world without the points of contact that could influence our lives by drawing consequences for our actions in the form of participation or even just attention. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. It sometimes feels like flying in space without any resistance or gravity. I recently wrote to a friend about. We are now thrown back to countryside only, but more time for the house. I have to see that i bring kind of regularity into the daily life to get not lost in seclusion.
Friday, 9
(from my notes) everything in the bag: the road tax sticker and two licenses. Feel freer now. And to my great surprise, the architects cabinet fitted in the car so we didn't need a taxi bagga. I took the photo shown below in the morning while waiting in a short queue at the Trust Bank entrance. Something I've always liked: a reality that obscures what is actually to be seen. I loved playing with broken glass and taking photos through the narrow side. Or through the transparent plastic cover of my record player, which was placed at the head of my loft bed. Back when I lived in the tower room of the creative flat-sharing community Richard-Dehmel Strasse. However, this photo here is all made up of reflections framed by the nearby wall and pillar.
Thursday, 8
It was the last day I could do the post on fb from our art space in town. Yesterday afternoon we transported the drawers of the architect cabinet with my parents' collection to it's new home The House of Culture Tintinto. In the morning we had an odyssey to get the sticker for the road tax as well as the driver's license. When checking the car it was found that our license plate was out of order. We'd have to go to the trust bank and deposit money there. After that, we should take the receipt to a specific police station where they will print out the license plates. The drive to the bank alone was a burden as we were stopped by a police officer who complained that my driver's license had expired. After a long back and forth I was close to tears, but finally he let us go. When we got there, we saw that at least 20 people lined up in front of the bank's entrance. They were sitting under a tent what meant it would take long. So we postponed this action and drove to the place for driver's licenses. A policewoman there told us we had to go somewhere else first and get a certificate. When she realized we didn't understand where to go, she was kind enough to come with us. And not only that, she took care of the formalities for us both there and at the original location and saved us hours of waiting. In the evening we saw T2 Trainspotting, whose production method I prefer to action films. I mean especially the coloring of the pictures and the use of the zoom lens.
Wednesday, 7
(from my post at fb Art Space group)
Otto Rodewald (1891-1960) - Dolphins, 1955, lithography, 33.4x49.2cm
Tuesday, 6
I think I definitely needed that break, the Easter break. Nothing complicated to think about, just watching TV. Sometimes I googled the films to read their plot on Wikipedia. I even looked at the dollar value of some actors at times. For example: What is Sylvester Stallone worth? $ 400 million. We saw Rambo 3 and 4 and Escape 1 and 2. This morning I / we then had to go to the GRA (Gambia Revenue Authority) to pay the road tax, which actually took a few hours. Tomorrow we have to go there again and get the sticker for the windshield and possibly the driver's license. Today I learned that Ramadan will start in a week. Time is running out and the art space on Kololi Road is almost empty.
Art Space Work of the Month
Konrad Schulz (1940-2001) - Huge hot tyre, 1970, serigraphy, 65x50cm
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Sunday, 4
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Satursay, 3
(from my post on fb) Our first banana harvest in a collage with fb stickers.
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Thursday, 1
Not wanting to perceive gray areas means wanting to simplify reality. There is not only good and bad and nothing in between. There was a time when I loved working with litho film (steep graduation that reduces gray areas, sometimes until only black and white remains). It was in that post-punk era. I didn't like crosshatching, I just wanted to paint opaquely. Quickly judging what is good and what is bad is basically not for me. Of course I follow certain rules, but for me that doesn't mean that I'm afraid to express myself like I want. It's just a choice to follow certain rules. For example, when I stick to the spelling of dictionaries that doesn't mean I cannot read another choice of writing. A lot of people don't care about spelling and even play with mistakes to create ambiguity that I like but with others. The statement, the train of thought, the thesis and the discourse are crucial for me and I don't want to complicate these with flourishes of ambiguities. If someone reads an additional meaning, this is not my intention. Which does not mean that I reject any pluralistic views, it is just not my intention. On the contrary, by no means do I support a kind of reading in the positivist sense. It is like it is and there is no space for diskussion. No, understanding can always be contained in subjective perception and something is interpreted differently than it is meant. I don't mean misunderstanding, but interactive understanding.