Sweaties – Berlin Art from 1987 as the Origin

A remark addressed to me by an English friend in Berlin during the summer of 1987 serves as the foundation for my work in yet another artistic medium. This endeavor gives rise to motifs that emerge primarily during the performance of daily routines – specifically, while I am working in the kitchen and at the dining table. I call these artistically interpreted motifs "Sweaties." The English noun "sweat" – German: "Schweiß" lends its name to this series of artworks.

The "Bottles" Sweatie came into being in July 2025 at Berlin-Südkreuz, born out of a conversation with a traveler. :D

Deeper origins lie in the ascent of the Moroccan mountain Toubkal

By combining cutlery, food containers, and tableware, a form of action art emerges that has its origins in Morocco. I met Simon in the summer of 1987 in a Moroccan mountain village named Imlil, located in the High Atlas Mountains. Later, we attempted to climb the 4,167-meter-high Mount Toubkal during a two-day ascent. Just short of the summit in the middle of summer, at an altitude of approximately 4,000 meters we were caught off guard by heavy snowfall.

The first Sweatie stood in my antique shop in Berlin in 1987

I advised turning back. We descended and returned to the Berber village of Imlil the next day. A few months later, Simon visited me at my antique shop in Berlin.

The day before yesterday, I was in my second hometown—Amorbach in the Odenwald. In the background stands the famous Abbey Church! :)

During our conversations, he declared a mountain of cardboard boxes, old cartons, and a chair haphazardly piled together in the middle of the large kitchen to be art. He said: "It's an artwork!" I have kept that sentence etched in my memory to this day, and I continue to carry it forward through my work with the Sweaties in the same spirit, just in a different location. :) Today, I asked my website administrator to edit the first 17 photographs of my Sweaties. I plan to offer them for sale in my L-art Shop very soon. :D