Bernd and Hilla Becher
Mines and Foundries
Hannibal, Bochum-Hofstede, Ruhr region, D 1973 / Photo: Hilla und Bernd Becher
The "Mapping the Region" project sees the Ruhr metropolis as a semiotic space in which history and identity have developed through intense interaction. The work of photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher make a significant contribution to studying this space.
Examples of industrial architecture shown in their work stand for the type of industrial production that has shaped the region for more than 150 years. Technology, architecture and labour as well as politics and geography are made visible through a specific historic connection.
The Bechers began taking photos of places in the Ruhr early on. They started their involvement with the Ruhr region in the late 1960s with Dortmund’s Zollern II mine, which was about to be torn down. Later projects covered Duisburg's Thyssen steel factory, Oberhausen's Concordia mine, the Hannover and Hannibal mines in Bochum and Bottrop's Prosper mine.
The exhibition will be the first to focus on the Bechers' work in the Ruhr while also including select typologies that show how certain types of buildings are linked to other regions. The Bechers' work shows us a past world that stays alive in people's memories. The remains of that era have historic importance and open up a space for future developments; at the same time they help determine the path of the region's transformation.
February 7 - May 2, 2010
Tu - Sat 11:00 - 17:00
Sun & holidays 10:00 - 17:00
Closed Mondays
Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop
Im Stadtgarten 20, 46236 Bottrop
The exhibition is curated by Heinz Liesbrock and Thomas Weski and will be shown as part of the Ruhr ART MUSEUMS.
Exclusive sponsor for photography: Savings Banks Finance Group
You can find additional information (in German) at:
Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop
Related topic:
Photography