A shadowy room with pillars lined up like in a thick forest - an attic. A view that is declared superfluous by modernisation, but is retained in this project, and thus, raises social questions for people living in Berlin today from an artistic point of view. The following text is the project concept.
In the buildings of Berlin, attics often remain undiscovered worlds. Rarely visited by neighbors, these spaces serve, if at all, simple tasks like drying laundry. However, in recent years, the saying „There's, still room at the top" has gained significance, especially in Berlin with its rapidly growing population. This has led to the emergence of luxurious penthouse apartments and rooftop terraces in the otherwise empty and dusty roofs. With „Thick Forest of Dachgeschoss," Berlin-based artist Yuko Nakajima dedicates herself to her own residence, which itself has undergone a transformation.
Through a series of three chapters, she captures the changes within her attic. Once a dim place, it now appears like a dense forest with its series of pillars, gradually giving way to the new. Her camera adeptly depicts the artifacts exposed or discarded during the process of modernization - indoors and outdoors, light and shadow, suspended dust and flowing time, memories, and traces left by people.
She integrates the concept of the audience as neighbors into these contemplations. As viewers move through the hotel room, their shadows overlap with the projection, transforming them into figures of the neighborhood. In its tranquility and thoughtfulness, „Thick Forest of Dachgeschoss" stimulates questions about community, sharing living spaces, and being neighbors over decades. The once-private dwelling becomes a site of hospitality, while the attic turns into a blank canvas where past and present communal practices can intertwine, though in the face of diminishing open spaces.