Michael Wesely: Neue Nationalgalerie 160401-201209

An archaeology of reconstruction: Michael Wesely’s long-exposure photographs of the Neue Nationalgalerie under renovation

For five years the renowned Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin was closed to the public for renovation. Nevertheless, the acclaimed German photographer Michael Wesely (born 1963), best known for his long-exposure technique and publications such as Open Shutter and Time Works, was permitted to bring four “guests” inside the iconic building. Wesely’s four cameras, each one pointing in a different direction, were installed on the ceiling. Every day they took between 600 and 1,100 pictures with an exposure time of two minutes each. Edited into sequences of bewitching montages, this fascinating compendium allows readers to envision the building’s metamorphosis while undergoing renovations. The long exposure time is an aesthetic coup, for ephemeral, restless, rapid movements contrast with the still, timeless quality of the architecture, presenting a sophisticated interplay of identity and change.