ANN CTBRAUNSTEINER

LEE WOODMAN

McKEE GALLERY 16TH JANUARY - 3RD FEBRUARY 2013

208 Bridge Street, Nelson Located within The Suter Te Aratoi o Whakatu Open every day 10:30am - 4:30pm Phone (03)546 9164

Exhibitionportfolio

The McKee exhibition was an experiment in changing a space. The gallery is long and relatively narrow. It has low ceilings in some places and beams that constrict the feeling if height which is in contrast to the Suter itself.

For our exhibition, AnnCT Braunsteiner, Lee Woodman, we created a feeling of separate rooms within the space. Most ‘rooms’ had work of both artists and the use of self made walls allowed the gallery walls space. A short story by Ann was printed on vinyl and fixed to the wall, also a chair from home, and a stamp set helped create the scene as not-for-sale props.

Not all exhibited items are shown here. Graphic design of the poster and bios by Lee Woodman

5. The Joint6. The Joint Blue Print

4. Stanp print D1. Stanp print A2. Stanp print B3. Stanp print C

Room 268

The rumor �lew through the city within no time, spreading the words ‘a room for someone else’ needs to be built. This didn’t happen so often. It is like old institutions. Long corridors, with lots of rooms going off. Sometimes every room being identical. Sometimes behind every door a unique world. Many variations were possible. On each �loor, if there were to be more than one �loor, the �irst room is for someone else. Depending on the �loor, a different team of the necessary trades was assigned to the task. So the big question in the city was, who? Ceci’la had been already informed to be part of the team. Not with a speci�ic assignment. Going with her, the minimal requirements from the city, independent from �loors, were at least a builder to make the interior of a room, someone from the Department of Written Words and someone from the Old Ones. Soon after the �irst rumors or still amongst them Sebastian from the Wood Folk, level 3 builder & design, Clementia from the Old Ones, a snail, Mrs Ka�ka, chief administrator in the Department of Written Words and of course Ceci’la were set up to go. The snails were a rather weird creature. The diameter of their shells, under normal conditions were about a meter. But highly depending on the mood. Furthermore it was said, they could be incredibly fast. “Don’t bet on winning a race against them.’ That much was known.

And there was she, Ceci’la. At this point, her being part of the mission was a riddle. Not even Mrs Ka�ka, knowing maybe every single word that was written down and stored in the Department of Written Words, could come up with an answer to this question. For Mrs Ka�ka this was the most discomforting thought. Anyway, this was how the team was put together. And after that, just to wait to 3 o’clock. And the klick. The room was totally empty. It was empty by the means that all walls were blank, a bare wooden �loor, and two windows looking into nothing else than a wall of mist. One light bulb was hanging from the ceiling, with a �ilm of dust. Nowhere else dust. Not in the corners, nor �luf�ing in little dust balls over the �loor. Clean and no smell. Empty. All of them started straight into what they do. Sebastian building shelves, a desk, a chair, plates, cups. All sorts of things really. Level 3 was still a main building department. But hardly restricted and anyone at level 3 was using the mind only to create all details in a room. No actual tools were used anymore. And actually never were.

Mrs Ka�ka whispered in thousands and thousands of words. Into books on the shelves, magazines, leaving words behind everywhere, even if they were invisible written on the walls, the air, behind the window glass. Not a little tiny place wasn’t �illed up with words. Clementia Snail walked around the room. Forward, left, right, up a wall, along the window sill, left, backwards, up the ceiling. Her movements looked unintentional, however, deep inside Ceci’la knew this was not what was going on.

And after watching it for a while something like a spider web appeared, transparent �ilaments of a slimy substance. Intertwining words from the corner to the ceiling, from there to the desk, back to the ceiling, the window, the walls, the light bulb. And because of the dusty old light bulb, giving away only strays of light, a complex structure became into being. It was beautiful to look at. And even more astonishing that each new connection of words delivered a new, other context. Story after story started to exist right in front of the eye. The room de�initely got a life on its own. Ceci’la was watching the evolvement in quiet delight. The �loor was made of dark wooden panels. Walls all white, bending in various directions, with a bit of a yellow tint of time. Some nail holes here and there, shadows of pictures on the walls long gone and never replaced. A study desk was sitting two steps up. In front of two windows, shaped in an arch and building a half circle to look out. Opening up to a small green area emerging, like a front paddock, with a high old fashioned iron fence on a wall of withered stone bricks. Separating the room from an other world behind it. And the feeling of a grey day.

The desk full with loose paper, writing, drawings on it. Books, pens. A bookshelf taking over the right wall. Filled up with literature, notebooks, and artifacts of any other time. That’s when Mrs Ka�ka blew the dust off the bulb and a clean bright light �loated through the room. And there it was, a room with an orderly face, some marks of time here and there. And the distinct impression of someone walked out, but soon to be back. A room of someone.

Klick 7:14am, Thursday, full moon up, out there through the window. The alarm is screaming. Up, up it is telling me. Alarm off, coffee. Standing in the kitchen, looking out of the window, the coffee pot telling me it is ready. Two thirds coffee, one third milk. And the �irst sip. Ah. She was sitting at the dining table, the notebook open at a random page. Without thinking about, she started reading. ‘Protocol No.26/8’. A letter to Sebastian.Klick. All of us stared at the door. We all had felt it. Like someone just walking out. We were done. Mrs Ka�ka closed her tiny vintage suitcase. You would never see her without it. A shabby old thing, the wallpaper it was once covered in, was maybe a piggy pink, with some green and wider grey lines and �lowery shapes in between. These days the wallpaper partly torn off, showing the skeleton underneath. Most of the colors faded, leaving mainly browns behind. Not that brown wouldn’t add any less to the character. Like old book covers. You just love them too. Mrs Ka�ka’s tiny suitcase was like this. You just love it and without it, Mrs Ka�ka would not be Mrs Ka�ka. Clementia Snail shrunk instantly a bit, or so it seemed. A while ago, she told me another story about their shells. ‘Our shells are even able to shrink to the size of a pea.’ Only Sebastian seemed to be frozen in time. His eyes �ixed on something on the desk.

My dear friend, Sebastian. It is Thursday night here, and I feel like writing to you. It’s been a while, and I don’t know much to tell since my last note to you or about my day. Days passing. Nights passing. Today I woke up and found this notebook by my bed. I can’t really explain how it got there. I took it with me, into the kitchen, put it on the dining table. You know, my coffee rituals, they are different to begin with. Reading is unusual. Anyhow, I started reading randomly in this notebook. I can not tell you much about what I read either. But now, I am sitting here again tonight writing a letter to you. The day at the of�ice was quite all right today and tomorrow we will start to build the set up. It’s not a big thing. Just for portrait photography really. However, for each individual shot we are creating a set. Tomorrow it will be an old writing desk, bookshelves behind. Everything hiding under a thin layer of dust. Till a breeze from the left will disturb this place. It will be the set for a young woman, maybe my age, a magazine shoot. Sorry, I got distracted. Sebastian, I am getting really tired. The rest of my day was very relaxed. Met a friend having a beer. Don’t remember what we talked. By the way, it’s a full moon here. I don’t know if there too? Soon. Your friend.

Did he just read that? He felt like this letter was talking to him. But how could that be? Mrs Ka�ka created indeed an interesting letter. And exactly when Sebastian �inished reading, someone had just left the room. A suitcase was closed. Clementia the snail shrank and Mrs. Ka�ka dusted off a light bulb.

AnnCT Braunsteiner 2012

18. Sebastian 19. Anatol Kant 20. Tilda 21. Julia 22. Oscar

9. Who You Are

LEEWOODMAN

The objects and drawings shown here come from the previous three years studying at Victoria University, Wellington. ‘The Joint’ and the

Stamp Set are both university projects, while the Crane Lamp was an entry for Design Folio Incubator Award completed during university holi-days. The life drawings come from weekly sessions held at the historic

Turnbull House near parliment.

Lee was born and raised in Nelson, and gained trade certificates in both joinery and building. In May 2013 Lee will graduate with a

bachelor of Design Innovation specialising in Culture and Context. Culture and Context (C+C) is a cross disciplinary degree using

research, experimentation and analysis to understand the impact design has on the ‘everyday’. C+C introduces students to new methods such as ‘critical design’ and ‘design fiction’ to project

possible futures through objects we can associate with. Lee also possible futures through objects we can associate with. Lee also studied philosophy as a minor academic discipline required with the

C+C specialisation.

leewoodman.co.nzlee.woodman@hotmail.com

+6421548225

AnnCTBRAUNSTEINER

‘Room 268, a Room for Someone Else’, is a short story based on a section from a book currently under progress. The family portraits are a result of exploring and creating

the characters found in the story. The concept for this exhibition comes from the story, the rooms created within and the feel of spaces. Ink Studies are part of a constant practise, a daily routine. The large mixed media works

represent a slice of work from 2012. represent a slice of work from 2012.

Annemarie Cecelia Thea Braunsteiner was born in Austria, working as a biochemist & biotechnologist for a

pharmaceutical company as a project manager, supervisor and process improvement specialist. In 2008

AnnCT published her first book ‘Das Lachen der Schmetterlinge’, gaining a representation at the Frankfurt Book Fair. In 2009 Ann established a base in Nelson, where

her focus shifted to visual arts as the main occupation. her focus shifted to visual arts as the main occupation. Ann is currently working on her second book.

annctbraunsteiner.comann@annctbraunsteiner.com

+6421548252