„Jacke wie Hose“ by Sunah Choi

Helke Bayrle always accompanied Thomas Bayrle with a video camera: during his teaching at the Städelschule, in art production, as well as during exhibition setups and openings. She documented events in which she actively participated and which she always approached with enthusiasm and curiosity. This resulted in intimate, personal footage that has never before been presented to the public in this form.

Helke Bayrle (1941–2022) was at Thomas Bayrle’s side since 1962 as a collaborator, colleague, and member of a shared work and life partner. On her own initiative and with her video camera in hand, she filmed the setup of exhibitions at the Portikus in Frankfurt am Main between 1992 and 2022. Her film series Portikus Under Construction, consisting of 182 relatively short films, forms an extensive archive and an extraordinary portrait of the exhibitions. By now, it represents art-historically valuable material in its own right. The videos are freely accessible at www.portikusunderconstruction.de

Sunah Choi studied at the Städelschule from 1995 to 2001 under Georg Herold, Peter Kubelka, and Thomas Bayrle. Between 2001 and 2017, she assisted Thomas Bayrle and collaborated with him. From 2001 to 2022, Choi edited all of Helke Bayrle’s films and managed the Portikus Under Construction series. The Berlin-based artist administers Helke Bayrle’s estate and teaches at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart.

Fabian Schöneich was curator at the Portikus from 2014 to 2018 and, in this role, was involved with numerous exhibition setups and the accompanying film recordings by Helke Bayrle. As the founding director of the CCA Berlin, established in 2022, he is also the editor of the anthology Portikus Under Construction 1992–2016, which provides a commented overview of Helke Bayrle’s films.