Angelika Soluk: Silent wanderings
My first opening this year! Oh I was thrilled when I discovered the announcement for this event last saturday during our foray across Braunschweig art festival. The artist Angelika Soluk displays her photos of “Lost Places” since last friday at the public library of Salzgitter. And we are live at the event! Art, sparkling wine and snacks, therefore we even drive to Salzgitter-Lebenstedt!
Dolce Vita at the Créteilpassage
It is friday afternoon. We reach Salzgitter-Lebenstedt by train. From the train station we walk through the city passage and the pedestrian walk towards the public library. We still have some time to spare. Suddenly we hear live music coming from the Créteilpassage. We instantly recognize the popular song “Wenn bei Capri die rote Sonne im Meer versinkt”. We move a little bit closer. We see excited faces. A delighted audience is listening and makes sheep’s eyes at the self-confident singer. It becomes apparent that everybody theses days is looking for joy, diversification and easiness.
The missing second mayor
Fortunately, we are almost at the library because suddenly a heavy shower comes down. We get quickly into the building and walk up the stairs to the second floor. The pictures of the artist Anglika Suluk are already waiting for us. We have a couple of minutes left before the opening starts. We take a first look around and become familiar with the photos.
At 5:30 pm exactly Syliva Fiedler, head of the public library, starts her opening speech. She finds some introductory words quickly. There is some amazement in the air when she tells the audience that the second mayor of Salzgitter was expected to hold a speech on this occassion but did not show up. After a couple of seconds of irritation she moves on and leads over to the artist. Soluk gives some details about herself and her motivation to visit so called “Lost Places” and picture them. “I like to tell stories”, she says. “I love old rooms, it sometimes tell something. These rooms are like theatre settings and tell its own stories.”
Silent Wanderings
The photos of the exhibition “Silent Wanderings” have been shot in the Harz Mountains and Lower Saxony. Her trademark is a tiny red fish she leaves behind at a location in order to set an example against vandalism she was faced with at many places. How she gets her motif? “I exchange pictures for keys”, she explains. I.e. she the owner in question for the key to the premise and makes her pictures as a gift for him/her. It is a good trade-off I guess. With the words “I invite you to use your imagination by now” she releases us to the show.
The abandoned library
Angelika Soluk accompanies us through the exhibition and answers all questions to her works. We find a picture of an abandoned private library and its corresponding story especially interesting. She tells the audience that the house with the book collection appeared as if the owner had just left. There were still the electrical toothbrush in the bathroom, the outfits were still in the closet and the books still in the book shelves. This turns mit imagination on! I wonder right away what makes somebody leaving his house in a hurry like this. What had happened? Was that person on the run? Oh, I would love to know that.
Soluk explains to us that the shoots her picture using the so called High Dynamic Range technique. With this method she insures that different shades of light can be recognized, otherwise the picture would be overexposed. Interesting, I learned something new. I’ll have a look whether my camera will do this.
After a glass of sparkling wine and a detailed circuit through the show we are leaving the place, satisfied and happy, happy to have received another piece of art and culture.
