BEYOND BORDERS art & upcycled Fashion

BEYOND BORDERS at Theater 509, Stollwerck, Cologne
1 camera - 54 destinations - 5 continents.

Cologne-based artist Ela Mergels launched her project "BEYOND BORDERS" in 2015 as a creative response to social polarization and growing nationalism.

Her analog camera travels around the world, always with a friend to a local. The latter's task is to photograph what is important to them in life. When the camera returns, the film is rewound and inserted a second time for the next trip. In this way, two strangers tell a new story together through double exposures.

The resulting works tell of personal values, of everyday life, of hope and loss, of solidarity and change. Whether Iran-USA, Ukraine-Russia, Bangladesh-Australia, Germany-Japan or Mexico-USA - each double exposure becomes a dialog between two people. A dialog that transcends national borders and at the same time impressively demonstrates how universal human experiences are.

With BEYOND BORDERS, Ela Mergels creates an artistic archive of the present - politically attentive, sensitive and globally conceived, yet at the same time deeply human. The works are not just art objects, but visual bridges: an invitation to look at the world with more closeness, respect and curiosity.

The project is based on the "small world principle".

www.beyondborders1.de