"Brot&Spiele" confronts the viewer with a scene where it is no longer clear what is fact and what is fiction. After all, the buildings depicted seem extremely familiar. There is hardly a larger German city in which similar monotonous structures are not to be found. Intended as well-intentioned urban expansions at the time of their construction, they now appear monotonous and dreary. Schabus intensifies this effect by stringing together several of these monolithic structures, to the extent that the whole development tips over into the unbelievable.
In the foreground of the photograph, the countless inhabitants of the digitally generated, forbidding-looking settlement are provided with a sports field. Recreational pleasures are thus transferred to a small, fenced-in area that offers a balance to the (perhaps) cramped living conditions. Schabus fictional scene is far from a social and green city.
At a time when the idea of community is dwindling, it demonstrates what current tasks politics, urban planning and administration have today. Especially in the year 2020, Schabus work acquires an urgent presence. For the deserted scene is reminiscent of the lock-down to contain the COVID-19 pandemic that year, which was particularly challenging for residents with low housing comfort.
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