fwbd4,34, Großes Bergdorf, 34. Öl auf Leinwand, 80 x 100 cm, 2007. Wenn es mir hier zu ruhig wird, wünsche ich mir manchmal eine Situation herbei, wie ich sie in der Petersgasse hatte. Da wohnte ich zum ersten Mal in meinem Leben allein. Es war ein altes Haus mit vielen Eigenheiten, in dem die Holztreppe knarrte und erst recht, wenn nachts jemand darauf leise zu gehen versuchte. Beim Kennenlernen der Nachbarn lösten sich meine Ängste bald wieder auf. Durch Awa, eine Germanistik – Studentin aus dem Senegal, waren alle miteinander in Kontakt. Sie kam herauf, wenn ihre Gemeinschaftsküche im ersten Stock zu unordentlich war und kochte bei mir, benützte mein Telefon, ließ auch ihre Verwandten bei mir anrufen. Einem fehlte gerade Öl oder Zucker und dem anderen der Knoblauch. Und meine Freunde besuchten mich fleißig, weil sie es toll fanden, dass ich plötzlich wieder tagsüber zuhause war. Oft kam ich mir aber auch wie im Durchhaus vor. Es kam mir dann nicht ganz ungelegen, dass wir nach zwei Jahren eine Unterbrechung dieser Wohnsituation wegen Sanierungsarbeiten einlegen mussten.
fwbd4,34, Large Mountain Village, oil on canvas, 80 by 100 cm, 2007. Whenever it is too quiet for my liking here, I sometimes long for a situation I had in Petersgasse. There, for the first time in my life, I lived on my own. It was an old building with a lot of oddities and a wooden staircase that would creak, particularly when someone tried to be especially soft-footed. When I got to know my neighbours, my fears soon vanished. Owing to Awa, a German student from Senegal, all the residents were in contact with each other. She used to come up when their shared kitchen on the first floor was too messy and would cook in my kitchen, she would use my phone to call and to receive calls. Someone had just run out of oil or sugar, another one of garlic. Also my friends called on me frequently because they thought it was great that I was home during the day. However, I often felt like in a passage. So it came quite useful to me when, after two years, there was a break in this situation due to restoration works.
fwbd4,34, Grande villaggio di montagna, olio su tela, 80 x 100 cm. Quando qui diventa tutto troppo tranquillo, talvolta vorrei ritrovarmi nella situazione che avevo nella Petersgasse. Quella fu la prima volta, in tutta la mia vita, che abitai da sola. Era una vecchia casa con molte particolarità, dove la scala di legno scricchiolava ogni qualvolta qualcuno di notte cercavo di percorrerla in silenzio. Conoscendo i miei vicini, le mie paure si dissolsero presto. Era Awa, una studentessa senegalese, studentessa di letteratura tedesca, a mantenere i contatti fra tutti i vicini. Ogni volta che la cucina comune al primo piano era troppo in disordine, Awa veniva a cucinare da me, utilizzava il mio telefono, diceva ai suoi parenti di chiamarla da me. Gli altri vicini venivano a prendersi dell’olio, dello zucchero o dell’aglio. Ed i miei amici mi facevano visita assiduamente perché gli piaceva l’atmosfera animata che vi si respirava. Ma spesso mi sentivo disturbata: era come se abitassi in una casa con un passaggio pubblico. Non mi giunsero inopportuni, quindi, i lavori di ristrutturazione dopo un paio d’anni per interrompere questo modo di vivere.
