Texts, paintings, sculptures by Barbara Schimmel

The Cologne artist Barabara Schimmel has been working on the themes dying, death and the memory of the dead for more than ten years. The focus of this exhibition is the sculpture group "Trauerhäutungen" (Skins of Mourning). With the field of association being "skinnings", she examines the signs that death inscribes in life and artistically shapes the sequence of states of mind during the recollection of mourning in stages. The seven life-size hollow sculptures, textile figurations, made of paper-mâché framed with dyed cotton, can be seen as the result of the artist's mourning experiences.

The second component of the entire ensemble refers to the pall, an object that has only been important since the High Middle Ages, and deals with the subject of suicide as a kind of personal "obituary".

The aim is to record the traces left by a person in different fabric qualities and symbolisms, and to formulate a personal memorial sign in connection with texts that are assigned to each pall.