The work was produced in the context of the re-opening of Potsdam Museum in 2012. It is based on an historical document, a report dated 6
th September 1783.
At the five city gates at that time, all the people who were arriving in Postdam or leaving Potsdam were called upon to say who they were, where they wanted to go, where they came from, and why they were traveling. The guardsman at each gate wrote down the answers in German Kurrent script, the customary form of writing from the 16th to the early 20th century. I was able to read and understand the contents with the aid of a transcription.
Translation process:
In an artistic exploration of the fact that it was only possible to get to Potsdam via the five city gates (that is, with some inconvenience), I decided to work using a stronger, more intractable material. A type of card that is so thick I am just able to fold it by hand. I now attribute a colour to each question and to each gate. I then reproduce the entire historical document in a script-like drawing.
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