Opening of the exhibition in the space for art Fett 6, Hamburg, February 23, 2005.

Dr. Monika Treut

Lilly asked me if I could share some thoughts with her speakers. I liked to say yes. Not only because we as a filmmaker are friends and colleagues, but above all because their boxes have long had an enchanting, poetic appeal to me. Let me make it short, because after all, the artworks by Lilly Grote give us something to see.

Not only in film, especially in the pretend worlds of Hollywood cinema, the world is becoming increasingly artificial and virtual. Cultural historians like Jean Baudrillard believe that simulation and virtuality are increasingly replacing reality. You do not remember what is real and what is staged. I see Lilly's boxing works as an artistic objection to this tendency. Against the "world on the wire" are their "worlds in the box".

In these boxes, real things become valuable again. As elements of the artwork they gain a kind of special aura. They are the things that they are. That sounds tautological, but things are more than that. They exude an aesthetic appearance. That's why they seduce us to a close, attentive look. They lure us into their own kingdom. Here, the imagination plays a big role. Because the aesthetically new or upgraded things are made into fantasy spaces that have new meanings or messages. These are mysterious stages that stimulate our imagination, with light also playing a special role.

It shows us things "in a new light".

You can feel that Lilly Grote loves the things she works with. Often it is the everyday things that have become seemingly useless and have been thrown away or offered at the flea market. In Lilly they are rare finds that are aesthetically enhanced.

This not only affects the individual elements in the boxes, it also affects the boxes themselves, which are mostly made from discarded containers. The old drawer of the Singer sewing machine becomes an art space in which we can now walk or stroll with our eyes, guided by wonderful blue light.

The love and the closeness of Lilly to the things found can also be felt by her craftsmanship. It is precise manual work as an artistic activity. Lilly's fingers were not only on the keyboard of the computer when making their work. They worked with scissors and saw, paper, wood, stone and glue. Her boxes show the physical activity of her creator and convey at the same time the pleasure and joy she felt at work. In this respect, they are also very personal works.

I know that artists do not like to hear people feel reminded of other artists through their work. But I think, when I see Lilly's work, a little to the collector and hobbyist Kurt Schwitters. He, too, above all, has processed everyday things that have been thrown away for his works and, as he says, re-evaluated them. However, Schwitters often increased in the oversized. For his "Merz Cathedral" the height of his apartment was too low. He had to break the blanket so that his work broke into his parents' home. That does not threaten Lilly's work. (So Antje did not have to worry about her house.) Lilly's boxing worlds are miniatures: scaled-down worlds in which the imagination has a lot of leeway. One last remark: in the current media theory the term "performative" plays a big role: action, event, show are announced. Everything has to be dramatized to get attention. Against this often performative "overdramatization" Lilly Grote sets the concept of "contemplation". The accurate, calm contemplation of their boxing worlds, which look like style-life, lets us immerse ourselves in a fantasy world and immerse ourselves meditatively, which is able to create your own pictures, memories and dreams in the viewer. And now everyone can experience this in this beautiful exhibition.