Schlaraffenland (Land of milk and honey)

Competition for a self service Restaurant at Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus of Deutscher Bundestag, Berlin, 2010

152 soup plates (ceramic, ø 32 cm, depth 5 cm) are embedded into the walls so that only their undersides remain visible. On the bottom surface of each plate, 152 different motifs are depicted, each composed of a flag-like element and a symbol placed on top.

The installation extends across four walls (see depiction on elevation sheet DIN A0: wall surfaces A, B, D, E). The plates are arranged in four vertical rows, leaving the upper wall surfaces free for visitor groups. However, the grid structure continues visually through holes (ø 4.5 cm, depth approx. 2 cm) in the upper wall sections. Wall color: cream-white.

The formal starting point for the work is the grid pattern left by the formwork anchor holes on the exposed concrete surfaces of the building, both inside and out (vertical spacing 80 cm, horizontal spacing 105 cm). The spacing of the plates is aligned with this grid, as are the grid holes in the upper rear wall sections of the dining area. The grid structure continues onto the concrete end wall of the courtyard outside, thereby integrating the courtyard into the work. In this way, the courtyard and interior space are conceptually related.

The conceptual starting point is the traditional, representative display of dishware in historic dining rooms – from the show buffets of Baroque palaces to the wall shelves of upper-middle-class kitchens. In both cases, these displays demonstrate prevailing wealth. The work Schlaraffenland (Land of Plenty) picks up this theme and, in this sense, illustrates the possibilities that abundance seemingly offers. Yet in this installation, the plates face away from the people in the room, simultaneously referencing the lack of wealth and the potential for conflict contained therein.

Each plate is uniquely designed. The motifs consist of a flag-like element, inspired in its division and color scheme by real flags (one to four colors) but not representing any actual flag, and a superimposed symbol. These symbols draw on the design of emblems, pictograms, symbols, and identification marks. Their content is deliberately ambiguous, aiming to span aspects ranging from social, ecological, and economic to sociological dimensions of food – eating at the intersection of existential conflict and communal ritual.

Löcher der Schalungsanker auf Betonwänden, M.-E.-Lüders-Haus Historisches Schaubuffet, Stadtschloss Berlin