Kommunikation versus Entfremdung / Communication vs. Alienation
1993, video

The video installation, Communication vs. Alienation, is made up of 4 monitors and 4 video players, and shows 4 individuals reading aloud from famous literary texts in the original language. None of the speakers, however, have any command of the language in which they are reading. A German woman who does not speak Italian reads from Dante Alighieri‘s, La Divina Commedia, an American man who knows no French reads from Victor Hugo‘s. Les Miserables, an Argentinian man who knows no Danish reads from Sören Kierkegaard‘s, Enten-Eller, an French man who knows no German reads from Goethe‘s Faust. The video installation is a functional breakdown of language and meaning.

Installation photo: Rolf Abraham