In her exhibition “GEPRÄGE” Mira Sasse addresses the rebuilding of Münster after 1945. For the eleventh edition of RADAR, a collaboration between LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur and Westfälischer Kunstverein, Sasse is installing scaffolding comprising wood and hemp rope within the Galerie der Gegenwart, a structure similar to the ones which, for a while, fashioned the cityscape of the bombed-out city centre. In the wake of the Second World War, the city centre of Münster lay in ruins. But the despondency concerning the destruction was outweighed by the desire of both the local population and merchants to rebuild the town hall, market and shops. While elsewhere, cities were frequently rebuilt according to then modern urban planning standards, Münster adhered to its medieval layout and historical inventory of buildings. Mira Sasse is particularly interested in the period during which the city resembled a huge construction site, with little of its original substance and form remaining. The restoration of Münster’s original character, after 1945, required the construction of numerous wooden scaffoldings that completely enveloped façades for a period of several years. The term ‘Gepräge’, the exhibition’s eponymous title, derives from numismatics, describing the embossing of image and text on coins and medals. In German however, it is also defined as meaning ‘distinctive appearance’ or ‘unique feature’. In her installation, the artist juxtaposes the modern ‘white cube’ of the museum space with rustic spruce wood scaffolding. This assembled structure, as an anachronism become material, refers to a turning point in the history of the city and, in the Galerie der Gegenwart, temporarily changes the Gepräge (in this case meaning the features and character) of the exhibition space. Visually, the scaffolding disrupts the generosity and tranquillity of the space. The openness and rhythm of the structure, the scaffolding chains and hemp ropes, and the roughness of the timber material highlights the sculptural autonomy of the structure. Scaffolding as an elevated, temporary auxiliary structure suggests a striving upwards and transformation, referring both to a past state and a point in the future. What remains certain is that the scaffolding is transitional only, a productive, temporary disruption that must be endured until something new arises or previous order has been restored. On the other hand, it also creates an atmosphere of tension and pleasure in anticipation of what will come. The artist’s fascination in the skills of historical scaffolding is clearly evident in her selection and processing of the materials employed. The work on paper on the wall opposite the gallery window could be regarded as Sasse’s tribute to the idiosyncrasies of the ‘Münster solution’ to scaffold construction. The embossed paper depicts five stylized concrete barrels: due to the city centre’s narrow alleyways, the stanchions were secured in barrels filled with concrete instead of the otherwise standard support struts attached diagonally to the pillars.

Mira Sasse (*1988, Lennestadt-Altenhundem) studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Stefan Kürten. She lives and works in Wuppertal.

RADAR is an exhibition series by LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur and Westfälischer Kunstverein. It showcases the work of younger and less well-known artists that are receiving attention and beginning to appear on the ‘radar’. The works on display provide an insight into the artist’s current concerns.

The exhibition is curated by Jenni Henke and Eline van Dijk.

_{Photo: LWL/Anne Neier}