Glühen, 2020
C-print, sand lime bricks, aluminum, glass
Frame 114 x 80 x 4 cm, display case 140 x 75 x 43 cm
The fire treatment of metals is called annealing. This process can produce specific material qualities. In the photographic work of the same name, „Glühen“, Stefan Alber shows a tunnel-like view into a densely built city landscape. Only a few metres and separated by a crumbling wall, the protective jungle-like thicket seems to separate itself from the construction site. Construction cranes in the sky point to a rapid and constant change in this situation, suggesting the fleeting nature of this view. A detail in the picture creates a link to the presentation in the exhibition space. The building bricks on display here could already have been taken from the site; at least similar building bricks are depicted in front of the wall. These weathered bricks are arranged in a glass case as if they wanted to embody an archetypal building. The organic overlays and filigree remains in the cavities of the weathered building elements refer to a past shelter preserved as an exhibition specimen.