Seemingly out of nowhere, German artist Gregor Schneider exhibits major work at the recently opened TOLOT/heuristic Shinonome complex. His solo show brings together "It's All Rheydt" (Kolkata, 2011) and photography from his largest undertaking, "Haus u r," a house in his hometown of Rheydt that, since 1985, has slowly been refashioned from within.
"It's All Rheydt" (Kolkata, 2011) is a collaborative project between himself and Bengali artisans. During a trip in 2010 to the Indian city of Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta), Schneider was inspired to build a pandal, a temporary structure fabricated for religious ceremonies.
The façade of his structure, with an upturned street complete with tarmac, manhole covers and street lamps, is intended to echo his hometown in Germany. Imagined as two parts, the second was supposed to see him carefully disassemble the structure in Kolkata and move it to Kassel for the 2012 Documenta, the contemporary and modern art exhibition held once every five years.