At night, coloured light flickers from the dome of the Taurastein Tower in Burgstädt. The irregular, pulsating light acts like a silent signal. It is reminiscent of a single window behind which someone is watching television - all to themselves. At the same time, it is the most public window of all, because anyone can suggest films for the installation, whose colour moods - reduced to light, colour and brightness - are then broadcast as a visual echo. What we see is not the film itself, but its essence. The result is a play with proximity and distance, with publicity and privacy.
The installation was created by multimedia artist Via Lewandowsky, born in Dresden in 1963 and now living in Berlin. Using sequences from feature films and documentaries, he has created a "medial weather glow" that shines out of the arched windows of the 39 metre high tower at night via 16 LED lamps. During the day, the visual experience is complemented by a multi-channel sound collage.
Upon entering the tower, visitors are greeted by a four-digit, randomly generated numerical code - a cryptic gesture that introduces them to the work. The climb up the 163 steps into the former water tower is accompanied by light and sound: gentle trickling, rumbling and even a thunderous crash. The sounds originate from the old tin mine of the Ehrenfriedersdorf show mine, around 40 kilometres away, where Lewandowsky recorded them underground and altered them technically. They are played through eight channels from the now empty water tank, which was once used as an elevated reservoir, and echo through the tower. In addition to light and sound, an exhibition of several of the artist's works can be seen in the tower.
The site-specific installation is conceived as a spatialised film - which can be experienced when entering, climbing the steps, from the vantage point and when looking at the illuminated spectacle at night. It interweaves stories, history, places and times to create a multi-sensory work that communicates across many channels and levels. An almost organic whole of light and sound is created in the long body of the tower - an experience that poetically blurs the boundaries between private perception and public participation.