The Unionviertel (Union neighbourhood) is an area in the Ruhr district which is shaped by the decline of the coal and steel industry and the constant influx and moving away of its inhabitants. Eight male and female artists examine what makes up this neighbourhood and its inhabitants in a collective project. Eight photographic and artistic works were created and compiled in a catalogue.
The graphic pattern of the communication media points to the typical Ruhr area paving, which consists of square aggregate concrete paving stones. The roughness of these paving stones leads to an individual rhythm which is reflected in their patterns. The criss-crossing typography points to the varying personalities that meet and drift apart here. These works, although created individually, have at the same time benefited from and influenced each other. This can be experienced in the concept of the large-format catalogue. Each work is represented on a printed sheet. These are loosely placed inside and so two works can be seen side by side on a double page. Thus two different ways of interpreting them become apparent and the works enter into a dialogue. This impression is enhanced by using different materials. The reader can rearrange the catalogue and create new contexts, or take them apart, or hang their favourite work up as a poster. The picture section is framed by a black and white text section which documents and explains the process of its creation and its individual concepts respectively.
»Inzwischen« – Rooms for art and meetings. The North Rhine-Westphalian Zukunftsakademie (Academy of the Future) opened its new location in Bochum in the autumn of 2014 and used the opportunity to introduce the Academy's main goals, ideas and events.
Its design takes up the idea of interspacing by using the distribution of letters. The artists at the opening event are positioned between the letters of the verbal trade mark, the most important information being placed in stylised rooms. The clarity of the floor plan is a dominating feature in the flyer for the opening, providing an intuitive overview of the programme highlights and their links with the new premises. The Academy's most important upcoming projects are represented by a series of five yellow cards, each of which is a self-contained space for the information on the concept and the artists. Together they also show a collective identity – »Inzwischen«.
Dirt, waste, muck – it's always there, surrounds us, it's an everyday thing, be it problem or art. The art event »Dreck – ein Apparat« (Dirt – an apparatus) deals with the most different perspectives of dirt. Food from bins, mudfighting, discussions about dirty topics.
The design has taken up the systemic aspect of dirt. Layers resembling geological drawings are found throughout the programme – systematic as circles, squares or crosses. But they are interrupted and pervaded by something that can be hidden in the earth, the waste, the dirt; a treasure. Designed in gold these structures form the opposite, the other perception, yet still a part of the system.