Leunora Salihu: Bogen

The two-metre-high sculpture Bogen by artist Leunora Salihu, who was born in Pristina/Serbia in 1977 and now lives in Düsseldorf, stands on the former dog run of the Hoheneck women's prison like a shiny silver piece of jewelry consisting of finely crafted links.

Composed of hundreds of circular aluminum discs, the work, which is reminiscent of a tall, narrow gate, invites visitors to walk through and observe the shadows that change depending on the position of the sun in an environment that is constantly changing due to the seasons and weather. With her sculpture, which is based on the repetition and arrangement of a modular pane element, the artist examines the movement in the static form, the relationship between inside and outside and the stories that are inscribed in the places. The concrete-constructive and at the same time memorable form also opens up a mental confrontation with the installation site of Stollberg, whose old town is dominated by the defiant appearance of Hoheneck Castle.

The former hunting lodge was used as a remand prison from the 17th century and eventually as a penitentiary; the building was heavily fortified. After the GDR was founded in 1949, Hoheneck became one of the largest women's prisons. The prisoners included political prisoners, at times the prison was overcrowded with 1600 women, and isolation and dark detention were the order of the day. An application to leave was often enough to become a “Hohenecker”. They worked on a piecework basis and produced tights and bed linen under the worst conditions, which were sold to well-known companies in the West. In the women's grueling daily routine, there were small signs that gave them hope of an outside, of freedom and a future - like the sun shining through the arch of the prison window into the gloomy cells.