Bei Uns Doch Nicht (2020-2021)

The tension ignites the work.

The tension between hardening and melting. 325 kg of wax needs some time to melt.
The material does not dissolve. Wax, unlike wood, does not burn to ash but melts.

It changes into a liquid form, just to solidify again.

There is tension about what will happen next, when it will happen and who will act. The fire of this candle will not burn like a major fire, it will be a slow but steady burning. You can see the flame but it is considered harmless,

it is kept at bay. However, the fire burns unnoticed and melts away at the wax.

It leaves a hole.

The candle is not lit. It becomes a signifier of potential fire and potential danger. Fear and danger create the tension that keeps this imaginary flame at bay. "What is happening in this country?"

- Nichts, zumindest bei uns doch nicht [Nothing, at least not here.]
11 wicks for the 11 dead of Halle and Hanau.

October 2019: far-right extremist, antisemitic attack on a synagogue in Halle, Saxony- Anhalt, Germany.

February 2020: far-right extremist, racist attack on two shisha lounges in Hanau, Hessia, Germany.