Photo exhibition
A Cologne resident’s unusual view of “les Belges”
Wim Woeber says you should be able to “take a walk” through his photographic works. And indeed, the pictures that the Cologne-based photographer is now showing in an ad-hoc exhibition invite you to look at them on several levels. Again and again, imaginative details are “hidden” that only become apparent on closer inspection. The largest part of the photo exhibition “work in progress” is entitled “Les Belges”. Woeber has captured typical situations from our neighboring country. “I’ve always found Belgium somehow strange and different during my visits,” admits Woeber – and the impression is reinforced in his works.
Whether it’s the insight into a gloomy-looking pub or the multi-layered image of a pedestrian scene with an accompanying police operation – life is captured in an unusual way. The images take a distanced but curious look at the events. Woeber consistently implements his view of the otherness of Belgian normality.
For example, he shows a fresh burial ground in a cemetery where workers with giant moustaches wait for their next assignment while their jackets hang casually over a cross. The fact that the photos are in black and white gives them a touch of history or timelessness. And yet they are from recent months.
The exhibition is rounded off with impressions from Israel, ranging from a crowd at the Wailing Wall to a ship on the dry dock and an imaginative view from below of a square in Hebron. However, the picture that shows the least amount of life is almost threatening: an ensemble of rooftops is overshadowed by an oppressive cloud cover. “If you look closely, you can even see the moon,” explains Woeber. But the viewer has to “take a walk” very carefully in order not to succumb to a fallacy: What at first glance appears to be the radiant full moon is in reality an illuminated satellite dish – the moon is hidden as a crescent in the sea of clouds.
Frank Everywhere
Wim Woeber, photo exhibition “work in progress”, Redaktionsbüro Wipperfürth (Schanzenstraße 36, Building 31, 2nd floor), until
9. February Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm, admission free.
taz Köln No. 7584, February 7, 2005, page 1, 78 Commentary Frank Überall, Review
