Copies are closely connected to their originals yet create a distorted image of whatever they duplicate. Copies replicate and preserve their originals but also make it possible to view them in a new perspective. Even the process of reproduction itself is removed from the original, in a certain sense making the copy an abstraction of its original and causing a shift in perception, shapes, or materials.
Peles Empire – a collaboration between artists Katharina Stoever and Barbara Wolff – is a multifaceted exploration of these mechanisms. The starting point for their work is Peles Castle, a summer residence built for King Carol I at the end of the 19th Century in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains. The interior décor of Peles is characterized by a crude mash-up of décors, each room dedicated to a different historical era such as Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance and Art Deco. In its quintessence, the castle is a collection of copies in architecture, a dream of historical edifices and interiors made real.
In 2005, Peles Empire began by compiling a photographic documentation of its rooms. These images then served as the focal point of their artistic work in myriad ways, functioning as the basis for the works themselves as well as for curatorial projects.
Exhibition opening hours
Tuesday – Sunday, 11.00 – 18.00
Thursday, 11.00 – 20.00
Tickets
Single: 3,00 Euro
Family: 6,00 Euro
Reduced: 2,00 Euro