sibylle feucht

„Where are we when we travel? Where is this „land of speed“, which never coincides exactly with the one we are crossing? Moving raises again the question of living“ Paul Virilio.

The space of the train seemed to me more and more as a space outside of the ‚normal‘ flow of time, without claims to those who are in it. Instead of stepping out of the intimacy of their own home into a public space, it is the opposite, due to the regular, everyday rythme: The Intimate, private is taken into Public. So each one is sitting on her own seat on the train and yet they are in their own home. The walls are opaque, but existant. So taking pictures in this environment from one seat to an other is like photographing from one house window to the next opposite the street. The small distance becomes a huge virtual distance.

Installation
The recordings were made in the format that corresponds to the billboard format used by the SBB, and by that means carried back to their origin. The panels were hung parallel to the rows of seats suspended (every 2nd row). Thus, a comparison was possible between the photographed , Vis-à-Vis‘ and the effectively seated passengers / commuters.
The selected train compositions started in Basle and went back and force twice a day on the Basle – Zurich – Basle route.