
Relocating a Structure essay film / 2023
In her project Relocating a Structure. German Pavilion 2022, 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Maria Eichhorn examines the eventful history of the German Pavilion since the beginnings of the Biennale and the powerful resistance art demonstrates when it focuses on social conditions.
“The German Pavilion represents a challenge for artists on several completely different levels. With every attempt at deconstruction, one is confronted with it yet again. I regard the German Pavilion not as isolated, but as part of an ensemble and engaged in interplay with other pavilions and other country participations in terms of national-territorial and geopolitical, global-economic, and ecological developments.”
—Maria Eichhorn
As part of Maria Eichhorn's contribution to the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2022, eight films were realized documenting the the Relocating a Structure project and bringing it together in a new cinematic form.
Eichhorn's idea of translocating and relocating the German Pavilion, which involves dismantling, removing, relocating, and reassembling the individual elements and fabric of the building, or relocating the structure as a whole, was accompanied from the outset by an analysis of the building’s specific structure, which actually consists of two buildings: the Bavarian Pavilion, built in 1909, and the German Pavilion, rebuilt in its current form in 1938. With the translocation of the building in mind, the historical joins in the building were exposed, making not only the conversion and extension of 1939 visible and tangible but also the Bavarian Pavilion of 1909 hidden beneath.
Where is the original structure? Where does the conversion and the extension begin?
The essay film Relocating a Structure includes a philosophical note on the idea of the German pavilion. It describes the initial technical plan of the removal of the pavilion and uses historical examples of a house removal practice. It tells about the Italian resistance - from the partisans to present-day activists, and emphasizes the problems of overpopulation and pollution caused by massive tourism in Venice.
Format: FULL HD, color
Length: 30 min 55 sec
A Project by
Maria Eichhorn
German Pavilion 2022
59th International Art Exhibition
La Biennale di Venezia
Production Country
Germany
Directed by
Sabrina Labis and Kristina Paustian
Producers, Photography, Editing
Sabrina Labis and Kristina Paustian
Narrator
Ruth Rosenfeld
Music
Ben Fawkes
The film was realized with the participation of
Dana Andrei
Marco Baravalle
Giulio Bobbo
Yilmaz Dziewior
Arno Löbbecke
Vittoria Martini
Anh-Linh Ngo
Leonie Radine
Luisella Romeo
Ruth Rosenfeld
Sound Design
Christian Obermaier
Colorist
Susi Dollnig




The German contribution to the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia is realized on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office and in cooperation with ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen.



Initial partner
With generous support