The Entwurf für eine Flughafentapete (design for an airport wallpaper) shows the upper bodies of two people—or rather, one person depicted twice. It is the artist Alice Creischer herself, raising her arms
as if seeking an upward lift. The figure appears both serious and light; it is as though she wants to forget gravity. The work was created in 1991 as part of an exploration of airplanes and airports. For many individuals then, the airplane was not an everyday means of transportation, but an exception: to be able to fly long-distance satisfies wanderlust; it also carries the presumption of effortlessness—so much heavy metal, so much energy, just to rise into the air and travel for a few hours.
Creischer imagined the wallpaper adorning the walls of an airport terminal: a pattern of flying, elevated bodies contrasting with the real heaviness of travel. In relation to the technical, social, and ecological conditions of an airport—a place where people, goods, and capital circulate—the artist’s gesture can also be read as a critique, of the privileged freedom of movement and of the booming neoliberalism of the 1990s, which promised upward mobility but at the same time brought exploitation.
In her artistic practice, Creischer deals with the themes of power and powerlessness, money and economics, and relates them to historical contexts. Her work Proudhon, the Society of December 10th, and the Club of Bad Debtors, which was on display at the GAK in the group exhibition You Breathe Differently Under the Weight. Debt and Credit in 2025, also deals with power relations, utopia, and appropriation.
Alice Creischer (*1960 in Gerolstein) studied philosophy and literature at the University of Düsseldorf and fine arts at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. She has been exhibiting internationally for over thirty years, including at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (2022); Heidelberger Kunstverein (2022); LWL–Museum für Kunst und Kultur, Münster (2021); Kunstmuseum Basel (2020); Gropius Bau, Berlin (2019); Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (2018); Culturgest, Lisbon (2017); Museum der Moderne, Salzburg (2016); Ludwig Forum, Aachen (2015); MACBA, Barcelona (2008); documenta 12 (2007); and Secession, Vienna (2002).
Annual Edition 2025
Alice Creischer
Entwurf für eine Flughafentapete
1991
Screen printing on paper
25,5×34 cm
Unique piece
1200,- incl. 7% VAT