Kittel Schürze series | exhibition view keik groningen netherlands
untitled 2020 pencil on paper 17,5 x 12,5 cm
untitled 2020 pencil on paper 17,5 x 12,5 cm
untitled 2020 pencil on paper 17,5 x 12,5 cm
untitled 2019 pencil on paper 14,7 x 10,5 cm
untitled 2019 pencil on paper 14,7 x 10,5 cm
untitled 2019 pencil on paper 14,7 x 10,5 cm
sara 2019 pencil on paper 14,8 x 10,5 cm and transparant-/white rag paper 16 x 12 cm
sara 2019 pencil on paper 14,8 x 10,5 cm and transparent-/white rag paper 16 x 12 cm
sara 2019 pencil on transparent-/white rag paper 16 x 12 cm
sara 2019 pencil on paper 14,8 x 10,5 cm and transparent-/white rag paper 16 x 12 cm
sara 2019 pencil on paper 14,8 x 10,5 cm
sara 2019 pencil on paper 14,8 x 10,5 cm
untitled 2019 postcard 14,3 x 10,5cm, pencil on paper 14,5 x 10,7 cm
untitled 2019 postcard 14,3 x 10,5cm, pencil on paper 14,5 x 10,7 cm
untitled 2019 postcard 14,3 x 10,5cm, pencil on paper 14,5 x 10,7 cm
untitled 2019 inside of paper-doll-box, pencil on paper/transparent paper A4
untitled 2019 inside of paper-doll-box, pencil on paper/transparent paper A4
untitled 2019 inside of paper-doll-box, pencil on paper/transparent paper A4
untitled 2019 inside of paper-doll-box, pencil on paper/transparent paper A4
exhibition view keik groningen netherlands
exhibition view cbk rensenpark emmen photo suze v/d ster
untitled 2016 pencil on paper, gold color pins, postcards 38 x 70 cm
untitled 2016 pencil on paper 17,5 x 12,5 cm
untitled 2016 pencil on paper 17,5 x 12,5 cm
untitled 2016 pencil on paper 17,5 x 12,5 cm
untitled 2016 pencil on paper 17,5 x 12,5 cm
Kittel Schürze series
In Leipzig, in residence at LIA, I was inspired by the clothing style of the GDR, the aprons worn by women who worked at the former Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei (cotton-spinning mill). The adornment, the buttons, the cut etc. Working women in the GDR were typically identified by the kittel schürze(apron). Worn at work and at home. The kittel schürze had an inexhaustible variety of shapes, patterns and colours, and was usually made of Dederon, the GDR-variant of nylon. Strong, easy to wash, quick-drying and no ironing required. Disadvantage: airtight, so prone to sweat and causes body odour.
In 2019, I worked for 3 months at the Internationales Sommeratelier Aschersleben. A town not far from Leipzig. The history of the site, the former papierwarenfabrik (paper factory)incited me to make new drawings. The information I gained from the city archive gave me also an inside of the Jewish women who worked in the factory. Particularly the story of Edith Hahn Beer. Her book The Jewish Bride, chapter 6 The slave girls of Aschersleben, treats life and work at the Bestehorn papierwarenfabrik. This inspired me to work on a new series of drawings under the title Sara, paper-doll-boxes and a series of collages with pay envelope and photos of the papierwarenfabrik.
In the exhibition on occasion of International Women's Day in Rotterdam, the Netherlands I showed some of the Kittel Schürze series. The choice of the drawings for the exhibition had also to do with the origin of International Women's Day. A strike by women on March 8, 1908 in New York directed against the poor working conditions in the textile industry and was the beginning of the struggle for women's emancipation and against inequality. The German women's rights activist Clara Zetkin later made the proposal to proclaim March 8 as International Women's Day. In Leipzig, I often cycled through the park named after her.