Title : As the wheel of the knife sharpener does
Artist : Irma Blumstock
Country : Germany
Medium : series of 4 works on paper, from 150x100cm to 70x100cm
Year : 2021
Concept
This is a series of drawings and collages, where I worked with collected material from the audio visual material from the platform of the Indo European Residency. I was mostly interested in everyday situations, that I might have been able to experience myself by strolling around the city. Watching the little clips of street life made me soon realize that through the filter of watching through someone else’s eyes I was able to focus on details and shapes that would reappear in other materials as well. Also the possibility of re-watching the given situations over and over again turned my visual interest to abstract movements and let me create my very own, close but very distant view of the city of Kolkata.
As the title says, I felt like I was in a constant loop, that would turn into an obsession in taking the circle or a round shape, trying to grasp the overwhelming task of getting to know a city just by opening time on a virtual journey. I see my works as a close up and a confession of distance at the same time.
It is about the inability to get closer but to have the chance to understand someone’s view, to be invisible and the small details, things I would have maybe missed when the entire city is so exciting would I have actually been in Kolkata.