Window Wipers
Three panes of matte acrylic glass have been mounted in front of three small video projectors on a wall at a distance of approximately 60 cm from each other. The projections, which can be viewed from both sides, show three life-size pair of hands using store-bought utensils to clean the acrylic panes of glass, which are approximately 24 x 30 cm in size. The three pairs of hands are wearing yellow, red, and turquoise-colored rubber gloves.The cleaning process mutates into an obsession - into a cleaning madness or mania. All imaginable cleaning techniques are performed. The spray bottle, the squee-gee, the chamois, the sponge, the washcloth, the dust cloth, among others, are put to use. The different materials produce a variety of sounds. A mixture of rubbing, scouring, scratching, squeaking, foaming, and spraying sounds in different rhythms, dynamics, and volumes is created. The sequences were shot through a pane of glass in front of a black background. This creates the impression that the projected hands are cleaning the actual panes.
The video piece "Scheibenwischer" (Window Wipers) was first on view during the solo exhibition "life size" in the gallery Gabriele Rivet in Cologne from May 5 - June 10, 2000.
Actors/hands: Susanne Seuffert, Heinz Keller, Philipp Lachenmann