Alles gut. Gerne wieder.
What traces do guests leave behind? In a post-war modernist house in Köln-Rodenkirchen, a guest room bore inscriptions dating back to the 1950s—drawings, rhymes, family names, and places of origin left by visitors who stayed near the Rhine. These analog, site-specific guestbook entries reflect a timeless human desire to leave a mark. Today, such expressions have largely shifted to digital platforms like Airbnb, often lacking the personal nuances of their predecessors.
In this installation, Nathalie und Wjatscheslaw Brum juxtaposed historical wall inscriptions with handwritten excerpts from contemporary Airbnb reviews of local accommodations. Furnished with free second-hand items sourced from online classifieds in Cologne, the room was revived one final time. Visitors were invited to send postcards as testimonies of a house soon to vanish.
By contrasting mid-20th-century guest inscriptions with modern digital reviews, the installation highlights the evolving criteria for comfort and the language used in guestbook entries. The use of donated furniture and the ephemeral nature of the installation underscore themes of transience and memory in domestic spaces.
Site-Specific Installation in a Vacant Guest Room
June 2020 – Private Residence, Cologne-Rodenkirchen
Temporary Installation
June 2020 – Private Residence, Cologne-Rodenkirchen
Temporary Installation
All photographs by Wjatscheslaw Brum
In collaboration with
Concept Nathalie Brum, Wjatscheslaw Brum
Film Documentation INprogRES Ensemble
Curators INprogRES Ensemble