Amos van Gelder

In the installation Wasserette, life and death are embedded in pieces of cloth suspended in the synagogue. Amidst them, prayer shawls (tallith) burst forth, covering the worshipers gathering in the next hall every Sabbath, as the ghosts of those no longer among us emerge and hover all around. History teems with specters forever wandering amidst the residues from which they were banished, carrying with them memories of culture and memories of spirit. The installation Wasserette invokes these memories from the recent and distant past: how this space once served as a gathering place for a thriving, active community, and how, at the end of war, in a chaotic reality, the synagogue was converted into a laundromat. Read further (pdf)