Volker Gerisch creates miniatures of situations, buildings and landscapes from the 1950s and transforms them photographically into unique visual worlds. The artist describes the process of creating the miniatures as ‘photorealistic model making’. This combines research into models and contemporary events with a variety of manual sculptural techniques and digital CAD construction. The level of detail pushes the boundaries of what is considered feasible. By removing the scale, the photographic interpretation conceals the dimensions of the objects, while at the same time revealing their uncompromising stringency and precision. The deceptively realistic models of working and everyday worlds raise the question of the reality of perception in the photographs: How real is this reality? On display are large-format photos and a selection of models.

The automatons and kinetic objects that Martin Stock builds from discarded and found everyday objects all have one thing in common: they not only tell the story of the previous lives of their individual components, which have been revived here, but also reveal how they work.  There are no invisible semiconductor electronics installed here; everything turns and moves before the eyes of the viewer with the help of small motors and self-wound electromagnets powered by a 12-volt power supply. Sewing machine bobbins become pulleys, glass coasters become drive wheels... This creates ‘mechanical miracles’ that serve only one purpose: to elicit a smile of amazement and recognition from the audience.
Complementing these little machines, which English automaton restorer Michael Start once called ‘the jazz version of classic entertainment machines,’ are two kinetic window displays that are sure to catch the eye.