“Gegenort - The Virtual Mine”

In contrast to projects realized in connection with other monuments of the industrial era,
the Neunkirchen group of artists does not intend to evoke any nostalgic memories of the
"good old days". Neither is the aim to use the site as a framework to achieve the most
spectacular alienation effect possible by means of happening-like events. The group's
project consequently continues the "original purpose" of the Gegenort mine: a place
where energy is produced. The tradition of the place, the genius loci, lives on in the
experiment and constitutes its motor, but without being transfigured nostalgically.

Matter-of-factly, the "soul" of the project could be reduced to the simple formula: Energy
was produced at Gegenort, energy is produced at Gegenort. This formula constitutes
the basis of the project. The form of energy has changed, but the importance of energy
for society has remained the same. The mine is a power place beyond esoteric
terminology.

This conception which is central to the project will illustrate the significance of the
Gegenort mine to visitors of the exhibition and, even more importantly, to the citizens of
Neunkirchen and former miners. After all, the coal produced at Gegenort kept industry going well beyond the borders of the Saarland.
The correlation established between the energy provider coal and the energy provider
data (= information) can be directly experienced during the exhibition and may
contribute to reducing prejudices and vague fears existing among the population with
regard to what is "new".
The exhibition at Gegenort will make the transition from the industrial era to the age of
communication "tangible". We will set a positive example: The days of stagnation
belong to the past - the age of networking with the world has begun.

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