Le Château des Carpathes
Acrylic and Oil Paint on Canvas
120 x 300 cm
Since the beginning, this painting has gone through several changes, including those of name and inspirations. Now it is the result of a potpourri of concepts and ideas that have always been embedded into the dark aspects of history and legend.
Starting as the emblematic Wilhelmshöhe building which served as a healing sanatorium during the late 1890s, a base during the Olympic Games 1936, a retirement home during the 50s and after 1985 an arts society and gallery; this concept shifted and got turned down and the painting was not going to be exhibited at the Kunstverein Wilhelmshöhe anymore, but for the Malerei Turm exhibition of 2021 that was meant to bring exhibitions during lockdown times to the outdoors as an installation format.
The first castle I could think of that resembled the Wilhelmshöhe building was the Poenari Fortress of Vlad II of Wallachia. The eye was added as a representation of Dracula in the 1997 filmization to strengthen the idea.
Sooner than later, Malerei Turm did not take place at the expected structure in the city centre but at the MS Dauerwelle the year 2024, after a series of cancellations, lack of funds, time and space issues.
Castle in the Carpathians by Jules Verne might be one of my favourites books of him. The parallels between this novel and Bram Stoker’s Dracula are uncanny and undeniable. Just as the Castle in the Carpathians, in which a Baron would experiment with sound and holograms to replicate the beautiful music of his beloved deceased prima donna, the MS Dauerwelle also saw video and sound media, surrounded by visual representations of castles, storms, seas and towers.
The Turm Exhibition at the ship was a collaboration between the paintings classes of the University of the Arts Bremen: Klasse Kati Barath, Klasse Katrin von Maltzahn and Klasse Baumkötter, plus anyone interested in taking part. Curated by Christina Scheib (18.01.2024 – 04.02.2024).
All pictures taken and text written by Isidora Bruna, 2024.