A course as a life-size history book

Beginning August 10, a quasi-interactive project by Lebanese-American artist Walid Raad  (*1967) will transform the Hamburger Kunsthalle into a storybook based on true events. Based on his presentation Cotton Under My Feet at the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum (2021/2022), Raad creates a parcours through the museum's collection rooms, subtitled The Hamburg Chapter. As visitors wander through the rooms, existing exhibition objects and supposed finds from the depots tell them sometimes fictional, sometimes true stories about the collections of the Hamburger Kunsthalle. Raad cleverly hides his own works among those of the Kunsthalle – at the same time, however, he uncovers previously unknown facts by picking up on individual historical details.

Raad's performances show the audience the way through the museum's rooms, along which they learn interesting facts about the history of the Kunsthalle. Acquisitions from the past century are juxtaposed with current events. For his research, the artist asked himself questions such as »Who is behind the donations? What connections can be made?«, for which he worked closely with the respective curators. The overall narrative of Cotton Under My Feet: The Hamburg Chapter grows out of its individual components: Video installations, Raad's works, frames including their backs, carpets and goblets (on loan from the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe), and paintings from the collection transform the museum visit into an exciting odyssey. Visitors can also have all the stories told to them via an app. Cotton Under My Feet: The Hamburg Chapter runs through November 10 at the Hamburger Kunsthalle.