Wellenbrecher [Wave-Breaker]  2016

The installation Wave-Breaker metaphorically recreates the imprint of Noah’s Ark on the grounds of the detention basin. The imprint was apparently discovered by a pilot near Turkey’s Mount Ararat in 1960. To create the monumental and segmented sculpture, the artist uses 60 wave-breaker (breakwaters) in the form of concrete tetrapod blocks, each measuring over two metres. These are used in the hydraulic engineering industry to protect coasts and banks and are usually found in coastal areas. Thus, she makes direct reference to the place and its protective function: After its completion, the detention basin will be utilized for absorbing flood waves in the case of heavy rainfall. The Wave-Breaker refer to both Noah’s Ark and the hope of a new beginning after a catastrophe caused by either climate change as well as how these are ingrained in the memory of humankind and are still being discussed today in the context of the plight of refugees. The question arises of who are the chosen ones, who are allowed to enter the boat? Wave-Breaker also symbolically stands for the breaking of political trends/ waves, most of all nationalist ideologies. (excerpt from a text by Lisa Maria Weber and Leonie Böhmer)