a service for hildesheim -
“Today you have the unique chance to become the godfather of an object in this particular street. There are twelve exclusive objects. Choose an object of your sympathy, give me your personal data, and the adoption is complete. Are you interested ?...”
Visual signatures are an urban specificity. Without doubt the most famous one is the obligatory “I was here”–imprint which you can find on almost every type of surface in a city. It is like a fingerprint, which not necessarily takes the surface to its full ns it seems just as honourable to donate money to the local theatre or for the renovation of a church as to become the godfather for a child in the third world. As a compensation for the donation visitors walk on the step with the name ”Helen
Maier” in the new church tower or sit on “Klaus Fuchs”–a new chair in the theatre.
‹‹‹ Impersonal objects turn into objects with a name, they become connected to a personal history and become part of the collective memory of Hildesheim. The objects in question are unspectacular things such as trees, lanterns, bins etc. that we pass by every day without paying them any attention. The same thing happens to a lot of citizens, too–those who aren’t involved in social or cultural life. They aren’t visible at all. Why not work on making citizens and objects visible for one day: Give them a name and bring them together, show what makes every city specific!... ..
Konzept: Verena Ries
Performance: Katinka Wondrak, Verena Ries
