Who is Heard
Dr. Tamara Ehs
“The right to speak is a form of wealth,” writes U.S. cultural historian Rebecca Solnit. In a democratic—and thus feminist—society, this wealth is redistributed. Those who can tell their story leave traces, remain in memory—even for centuries. Who is heard, and who is not, defines the status quo of our society. Voicelessness and powerlessness go hand in hand. Only those whose voices are heard can participate, take part in democracy, and help shape politics. For a long time, politics and historiography were the domain of great men and their deeds—kings and warlords, founding fathers and inventors. Bertolt Brecht criticized this dominant narrative in his “Questions of a Reading Worker.” But it was only the women’s movement that posed the questions of a reading working woman and made room in history for those long confined to the private sphere, excluded from public life.
... / Was die Stadt / Schönes hat, /...
Heike Sütter
In Vienna's Stadtpark, the gilded bronze statue of Johann Strauss has stood for over a century, remaining one of the city's most photographed monuments. To mark the Waltz King's 200th anniversary, LichtStrauss by Victoria Coeln transforms the park into a radiant landscape painting.
Light - Space - Explorations — Victoria Coelns project 30 Years Peaceful Revolution
Heike Sütter
Leipzig was one of the epicenters that ignited the revolutionary events leading to the fall of the GDR thirty years ago. In this historic trade city, courage first gathered—initially among a few, then among many. Here, the momentum built that would, over the following months, spark a chain of events culminating in the Peaceful Revolution. The Festival of Lights is dedicated to this memory: to the autumn of 1989 and, in particular, to October 9—the decisive day in Leipzig. In 2019, the city celebrated thirty years since the Peaceful Revolution, and with the Festival of Lights Leipzig 2019, conceived by Victoria Coeln, this vibrant, creative city set new international standards—artistically, conceptually, and socio-politically…
Crossing Realities
Lucas Gehrmann
When Victoria Coeln projects specially wrought light-images for the creation of her Chromographies on the places, spaces, or sites chosen and visited by her, which are scarcely or not at all illuminated by sunlight or artificial light, she achieves, as she herself says, not really their illumination but rather their “exposure”. That is: Victoria Coeln’s specific art of illumination of her subjects is proceeded by the exposure of photographic film material — the intended chromographic image already exists for the duration of the projection in the real three-dimensional space …
Light is a thing
Andreas Spiegl
“The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has direct bearing upon the product which we live, and upon the changes which we hope to bring about through those lives. It is within this light that we form those ideas by which we pursue our magic and make it realized”. (Audre Lorde, Poetry is Not a Luxury, 1977*)
The experience that one can also see things differently, in a different manner than one is used to perceiving them – that one’s view of things can change, if one changes one’s perspective, if one observes them from a different viewpoint, at another period of time, from a distance of a couple of hours or years – sheds a critical light on the act of seeing: apparently, seeing is no guarantee that things are as one sees them. It is the act of seeing itself that allows the reality to appear in a particular light …
Where the light goes
Jörg Jacob
Light lines venture out in search of clues, they trace tracks. Colour fields and shadow surfaces build structures which make way for new interpretations against the backdrop of old images. Here, light is the intermediary that opens doors, rendering history visible and visceral because it’s not just that Victoria Coeln’s works enlist the presence of light made manifest, they are also informed by the metaphorical meaning of light. The way she superimposes new light structures and fragments on existing spatial constellations paves pathways for new perceptions of old familiar places. Victoria Coeln’s current work in Leipzig converges with the events of autumn, 1989. She treads gingerly around the objects of her study—exploring the urban landscape, its architecture and history before casting her hand on it with light and photography …