The unicorn - now on view!

The results of my artist residency in Darmstadt are now on view and can be visited at Atelierhaus LEW 1 in Darmstadt.

The residency took place in the frame of the project Re-Negotiating Space, a series of dialogues and interventions curated by Lukas Einsele (Kultur einer Digitalstadt e.V.) and Jan A. Eckert and is part of the official World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 (Design for Democracy: Atmospheres for a better life). The residency was made possible by #DarmstädterTagederFotografie.

During my stay I developed the photographic series "Re-Negotiating Space / Unicorn" where the urban space of Darmstadt is understood as a site of ongoing negotiation processes. Questions concerning the self conception of humans in relation to nature intersect with ecological necessities, while at the same time divergent visions within the urban community regarding the use of public space stand in tension with the city’s planning and political interests. I responded to this through a performative intervention in the urban environment by inserting myself in a unicorn costume at selected locations throughout Darmstadt. The figure functioned as a deliberately introduced moment of irritation that shifts habitual modes of perception and reveals both constructed notions of nature and concepts of use within the urban context.

The project was developed in cooperation with Darmstadt based photographer Andreas Zierhut.

Exhibition:
Swaantje Güntzel: Re-Negotiating Space / Unicorn, 24.4. - 3.5.2026
Opening hours: TUE – FRI, 2 - 6 p.m. SAT – SUN 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Atelierhaus LEW 1
Ludwig-Engel-Weg 1
64287 Darmstadt

[Swaantje Güntzel, Re-Negotiating Space / Unicorn / City-Ring, 2026, Print on Hahnemühle baryta paper, 30 x 45 cm]

Foto: Andreas Zierhut



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