Ungläubiges Glück

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, the artist Christian Jankowski has produced a new work entitled Ungläubiges Glück (Unbelievable Luck). The work links the epochal event of the fall of the Berlin Wall with the opening of the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, which coincidentally took place on the same day, 9 November 1989. The artwork was shown exclusively on the day of the anniversary from 5 to 9 p.m. on the Deichtorhallen-Platz, the square between the two main buildings of the Deichtorhallen.

Ungläubiges Glück is conceived as a large-scale installation. The construction site located on the Deichtorhallen-Platz was an integral part of the work, and the northern hall of the museum complex, which was completely surrounded by a fence due to renovation work, was a symbol of the former GDR; the fence symbolized the Wall.

The famous viewing platform at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin was reconstructed next to the construction fence. On 9 November, only from there the visitors were able to glimpse the three-channel video installation behind the fence, in which short statements by people closely linked to the Deichtorhallen were shown: exhibition visitors, curators, critics, collectors, politicians and friends. These people talked about what they experienced on 9 November 1989, when the fall of the Berlin Wall coincided with the opening of the Deichtorhallen. Phrases such as »the fall of the Wall« and »the opening of the borders« were replaced with »opening« and »Deichtorhallen«, resulting in a collage of unexpected interpretations, mingled events and shifts of relevance.