22 - Sissel Tolaas

About

Opening 18.04.2019 at 7pm untill 10pm
Reception by Sabine Weißler (District Councilor of the Department of Further Education, Culture, Environment, Nature, Streets and Green Areas, District Office Berlin Mitte) and Introduction by Stein Iversen (Minister Councilor, Norwegian Embassy) and Solvej Ovesen (Curator, Galerie Wedding)

An exhibition for the nose: At Galerie Wedding, Sissel Tolaas tells the invisible, olfactory stories of the vivid and constantly evolving Müllerstraße. The presented olfactory landscape of the main street goes beyond the here and now and allows visitors to immerse themselves in the various smells and layers of its past. Activated by wind, the exhibition refers directly to the locations of the windmills that once lined Müllerstraße.

So far Tolaas has created 52 olfactory profiles of international metropolises and is also researching the olfactory landscapes of coasts and oceans. For the exhibition 22, she has investigated the scent of the Müllerstraße in Berlin's district Wedding. The title refers to the 22 windmills that were grinding grains there in the 18th and 19th century and who gave the street - a central artery of the city - its name. In the course of industrialization, larger companies such as the pharmaceutical group Schering AG began to establish themselves in Müllerstraße. Earlier, a left-wing working class had settled here. It continues to shape the district, which has also become the most culturally diverse in the country. The Wedding-based author Lauren van Vuuren accompanied the olfactory exploration of Müllerstraße from a literary perspective. Her docu-fiction texts can also be found in the exhibition.

22 was created in cooperation with the Schering Stiftung, where the second part of the exhibition opens on April 10th, 2019. While Galerie Wedding focuses on Tolaas' artistic work, the Schering Stiftung highlights her as a chemist. A chemistry laboratory of sorts provides an insight into her scientific work. Steaming glass bulbs invite intent smelling and individual characteristic fragrance molecules or complex molecule connections can be perceived: The visitors find themselves inside a studio that resembles Tolaas' laboratory.