Manifesta 16 takes place in empty churches in four cities of the Ruhr Valley. The travelling Biennale investigates how we can reimagine empty church buildings as spaces for civic life, physical well-being and community encounter.
Among the more than 100 artists is Pravdoliub Ivanvov with an artistic intervention at the 'Blue Chapel' of St. Gertrud Church in Essen. The realisation of the installation was supported by Art Collection Telekom.
The classic analog thermometer attached to the church window reads 37.6 degrees – a slightly elevated fever. Are these the signs of an illness just beginning, or has the crisis already passed? With a simple intervention and a reinterpretation of the existing steps within the original church windows, Ivanov Pravdoliub conveys the urgency of assessing our current condition. Are we—society as a whole, each individual, the environment, the climate—at the beginning or already at the end of a threatening situation? Must we take action and prepare 'calf wraps' to bring down the fever, or can we calmly await full recovery?
During the opening days in the Ruhr region, current temperatures already pointed more toward one of the unfolding catastrophes. In some cities, 37.6 degrees were even exceeded.
