Anna Fasshauer

My works in this exhibition came about in a way that I find well described by composers. They are, for example, in the words of Wolfgang Rihm, “created in the process of becoming.” Or, as Eggebrecht puts it, they are “happening.” Initially, I only had in mind to do something with a specific material that is not typically done, and to push this making so far that what emerges from the material gains its own validity.

In general, "left" is the space for all artists. I don't mean politically left, but rather the alternative perspective, the opposite, the invisible, etc. The best way to approach the topic is to look for further uses of the words left and right in our language. It becomes apparent that something can be lawful, one can be right, someone can have their heart in the right place, lawyers represent us in court, we live in a state governed by law, and we learn spelling in elementary school and hear about right angles in math class. In contrast, a sneaky person is considered left-handed or devious, and incompetent people are said to have two left feet. The word right seems to consistently represent the good, true, and correct, while left stands for the false and dishonorable.

This works wonderfully in our neighboring countries as well. "Right" in English means both "right" and "the law," one can be right (to be right), and "all right" means that everything is in order. The same applies in French (a droit = right, le droit = the law) and in Spanish (derecho = right, el derecho = the law). The French term "gauche" (left), however, means both clumsy and sneaky in English and French.

Even the Romans evaluated the two sides differently—back then, the left side was initially considered to bring good fortune. It was only later that the Greeks' view took hold, associating the right side with the positive and the left with the negative. This division can be found in many places. In Christian painting, for example, the good always sit on the right side of the Holy Spirit, while sinners sit on the left. And although this has changed over time, traditionally, the woman stood to the right of the man in wedding photos—on his good side or as his "good side."

For her sculptures and installations, Anna Fasshauer uses a variety of different materials, which she combines and shapes into surprising constellations. Anna Fasshauer is interested in the interplay of forms that are usually kept apart.

The visual syntheses in Fasshauer's artistically abstract compositions reveal hidden connections and relationships in forms and materials. Dominant concepts of duality and dichotomy are thus called into question, opening the gaze to a productive engagement with the phenomena of dissonance and heterogeneity.