Renata Kaminska

TXL Tryptich

I grew up in the utopian

city, in Zamośc´ , which was

designated a UNESCO World

Heritage site in 1992 and has

the status of an Ideal City as

it represents the ideal Renaissance

city. Established

by the Polish Chancellor Jan

Zamoyski, it was built after

plans by Bernardo Morando

between 1580 and 1605

and was literally created

from scratch according to a

totalitarian plan. When I came

to Berlin, I also lived in other

countries and therefore had

to fly quite often. From an

aerial perspective I noticed

the similarities between Tegel

Airport and the city of my

childhood. Tegel was built as

a hexagonal ring gate. The

hexagonal with its basic form

allows arbitrary multiplication

of the plan. Zamos´ c´ is modelled

on the basic shape of a

pentagon.

Both seem to hail from times when architectural visions and utopias appeared to be feasible and imagination had no limits. Designs in the spirit of utopian thinking were based on the rules of geometry, a sign and expression of human rationality. The use of the grid as a basis for the general structure was continued in the individual buildings whose facades and details bear variations of these modules. Today, the concept of

urban utopia fascinates especially from an aesthetic point of view with its consistent

and distinct modules, while

its true appeal comes from

what is noticeable below the

surface, the spirit of utopia.

My video reflects the layers of

historical and contemporary

political discourse by integrating

similarly layered perspective-

variations in the same

video image. Shots into a

mirror that in turn reflects images

from other mirrors, make

visible this simultaneity of

projected depths and aspect

ratios entirely without digital

post-production effects.