Artwork Statement
WE

Petra Kaltenbach, who has been creating video art since 2015, repeatedly creates hybrid artworks that show both a painted and a digital work on the same subject. She links the two works either through a QR code or also through augmented reality. Since 2021 Petra also creates NFTs.

The art project is under the name WE

The artworks are all based on the idea of transformation – which in itself is shown by the scanning of the physical art image and the subsequent transformation into an art video and the idea of what defines a partnership.

‍The WE means reaching goals and ideals together, experiencing developments together – a common route that intensifies over time and brings forth more and more fruits. A common route means approaching, exchanging, changing one’s own views, developing new perspectives. All this is transformation. And the closer you get to each other, the more you master common challenges, the more you transform and the stronger the WE becomes.

EVERYTHING FLOWS

EVERYTHING FLOWS

2022, Dubai, UAE, 150 × 85 cm, Acrylic and UV-print on canvas

This artwork is about the continued movement / relationship, about the liveliness caused by mutual inspiration and the resulting progress. A true togetherness is never static, but flows without, however, losing the balance or maintaining the center line in any case.

THE UNITY OF US

THE UNITY OF US

2022, Dubai, UAE, 150 × 85 cm, Acrylic and UV-print on canvas

When 2 parties build a relationship and pursue a common goal, a pattern, a web of relationships emerges and over time a transformation from ME to WE results.In the best case a unity emerges. This unity is one of the great values/ideals of Sheik Zayed -the ‘father’ of the UAE, but also of Germany. Germany celebrates German Unity Day to commemorate German reunification in 1990. Both countries live the unification, the German missions in the UAE even dedicate this year’s German Unity Day to the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with the UAE.
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This artwork shows on the one hand the wonderful ongoing movement that keeps a relationship alive and on the other hand the balance that a good relationship has among equal partners – represented by an aesthetic mesh with overlying ME-WE rotations. The ME and the WE are not so different…and yet one must rotate on its axis before making the step from ME to WE. This is a symbol of the tireless efforts partners make to live a harmonious relationship.
RE INVENTING

RE-INVENTING

2022, Dubai, UAE, 150 x 85 cm, Acrylic and UV-print on canvas

The Emirates are a country and Dubai is a city that is constantly reinventing itself. Even a friendship like the German-Emirati one has to reinvent itself again and again and get new impulses through new ideas (“re-inventing”). This is true for both the economic (energy reform, etc.) and the cultural spheres, and it is also true for the political sphere.

In terms of form and content, Petra Kaltenbach sees a basic structure in whose conditions something new develops, taking up parts of this basic structure, but bringing in new impulses.
EXCHANGE

EXCHANGE

2022, Dubai, UAE, 150 x 85 cm, Acrylic and UV-print on canvas

A good partnership or relationship always offers a platform for constant exchange - in form of values, thoughts, ideas, projects, data, etc. Think of zoom calls or emails, indispensable media in an international partnership.
MILESTONES

MILESTONES

2022, Dubai, UAE, 150 x 85 cm, Acrylic and UV-print on canvas

Milestones was born out of the 50-year history of diplomatic relations between the UAE and Germany. In the beginning the exchange was quite sporadic. Each of the 'art bars' on the artwork is an alienated element from a photo taken during those times. You can clearly see that the bars have increased in the last third, as well as the diplomatic events have increased in the last years.