VOLLMACHT

Intervention in public space (foil plot, backlite- and digital-print, pergamin cover, brochure boxes) / 2021

The intervention in public space is part of my artistic research project TERRITORIAL OBJECTS. Using leftover small plots of land in rural areas that I buy from a subsidiary of the Treuhandanstalt, I investigate their construction and usability as well as the ongoing post-socialist transformation since 1989/90.

I have transformed the showcases of the Lost Weekend Gallery in Munich into light boxes. The word “VollMacht” (“FullPower”) is written on them in large format. On another window, three illuminated powers of attorney for land register inspection are announced, which can be taken away in the boxes below. The powers of attorney allow the power of attorney holder to visit the district courts responsible for the properties in order to research and produce extracts. Power of attorney holders can also issue sub-power of attorney.

The land register is a restricted public register and archive that records sensitive data on ownership as well as archiving historical documents. Among other things, it contains data on expropriation during the Soviet occupation, collectivisation during the GDR period and reprivatisation after 1989/90. However, this data can only be viewed with a "legitimate interest" or by the owner himself and is not available to the public.