For the exhibition “Breaking Bubbles” at the Dortmunder U, our group created three art objects with a diameter of 330 cm each. The construction was a challenge: the Dortmunder U is a listed building, and no new holes may be drilled into its ceiling. Together with the team of the sculpture department at TU Dortmund University, we developed a system of aluminium profiles, to which we attached three double spirals made of aluminium struts. From these hung 240 cm long lengths of fabric with abstracted, printed motifs from various “bubbles”.
Both the construction and the transport of the artworks were a challenge. The university’s in-house moving service took on the art move. Naturally, we all pitched in and prepared everything so that the bubbles and the other artworks could be loaded for the exhibition.
Looking back, the entire process – from planning in the seminar and construction in the studio to the installation at the Dortmunder U – was a true collaborative project. If you are planning something similar, think about the art transport from the very beginning. Logistics often decide whether a work arrives unscathed or not. In the Ruhr area, experienced specialist companies handle both art transports and traditional moves professionally – saving nerves and protecting the work you have invested so much time in.
What many people forget: interim storage can also become a problem if artworks cannot be installed right away. We assembled our bubbles ahead of the exhibition and kept them in the university’s art halls – possible only because it was the lecture-free period and no seminars were taking place there. The schedule was tight, but everything worked out well. For other installations, works sometimes have to be stored professionally for weeks before the art transport begins. Art objects made of delicate materials such as fabric, wood or pigments react quickly to incorrect humidity and temperature fluctuations.