monheim_cube

2021

monheim_cube takes up the shape of the cube to create a space within a space that can become a sculptural gateway, perhaps even a stage in the city. The cube installed centrally in the pedestrian zone of the city of Monheim and its "satellites" on Berliner Ring, Krischerstraße and Opladener Straße are objects that stand for an interactive situation. As you approach the cube and the space it marks out, the light emanating from it intensifies. If you stand inside the cube, the sound starts.

The square, which is embedded in the floor in front of and behind the cube as a luminous track, also creates a mark that only becomes clearly visible from close up. Above all, however, it is the people and their individual movements that control the appearance of the cube. The seemingly simple structure of the building with eight corners and twelve edges loses its unambiguousness and enters into an interrelationship with the surrounding space. In this way, it also conveys that even in simplicity lies great complexity: Only the change of perspective conveys an impression of how everything is connected to everything else.

monheim_cube and its satellites enter into a dialog with their respective locations. In particular, the open cube in the city center provides a view of the surroundings, and the frame created by the edges of the cube focuses on specific sections. Deliberately larger than human scale, the work makes a clear, geometric impression from a distance, but the closer you get, the more it seems to become one with its surroundings. The lighting inside reacts to the movements of passers-by in the immediate vicinity. In a sense, the audience becomes a dimmer, a light switch that activates the lighting and sound inside the cube.

The cubes tell the story of the Neue Mitte and collect the narratives associated with it. They serve as a marker in the urban space, but also as an invitation to people to feel addressed not only as consumers, but also as active players who make this place their own. The light sets the tone for this. When it is dark and the stores close, it shines most intensely.