The video observes and follows a rat that has invaded the artist’s living and studio spaces, a resident who just does not pay rent. After its evacuation from the rooms, Lukas Zerbst filmed the rat eating in the courtyard. The video of a special form of appropriation of space is observed through a blind that automatically and surprisingly moves up and down from time to time. Just as one is briefly startled by the movement when watching, the rat, which scurries out of the picture at these moments, also reacts as if it wanted to protect itself from voyeuristic glances.
At the same time, the viewers themselves stand in front of a ‘window’ that the television represents and look out in safety. Thus, we viewers seem to be the ones who operate the blinds with robotic movement to scare away the rat we are looking at or hiding from.”
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Ingmar Lähnemann (Curator Städtische Galerie Bremen)
