Galerie Turtur (2001)

On the 20 February 2001, the Gallery Turtur project was uploaded to the internet. One goal was to create a showroom in an ambience between physical reality and virtuality, which would therefore neither fulfil the criteria of a pure online-gallery, nor those of a conventional gallery, that can be entered by the public A miniature room provided the physical architecture for the virtual (apparent) dimension of the gallery as it was presented in the internet for 13 months. The real expansion of the room had a ratio of 1:25 to its virtual dimension; the gallery as it looked like on screen was in fact 25 times larger, than its physical reality. The showroom had a display area of 1850 cm²(physical) and 116 m²(virtual). For the duration of each show the works visible on the internet were installed in the real room of the Gallery Turtur. Four artsis were invited and exhibited work during the 12 months of the project's duration. The last show can be seen here.

The name Turtur
The name Turtur belongs originally to a character from Michael Ende's it children's book "Jim Knopf and Lukas the Engine-driver". In his story "Mr. Tur Tur" is a "giant-in-appearance", who seems to be gigantic if stands near the horizon and shrinks in approach - inverting common perception. He explains to Jim and Lukas:

"You see, my friends: if one of you now rose and would go away, he would become yet always smaller and smaller until finally at the horizon he would look like a spot. If he returned then again, he would slowly become larger until in the end he stood in front of us in his actual size. You will admit however that in reality the one in question always remains equally large. It only seems as if he became smaller and smaller and then larger again."
"Correct" said Lukas.
"Now", Mr. Tur Tur explained, "with me that is simply the other way around. That's all. The further I am away, the larger I look. And the closer I come, the better one recognizes my actual shape."
"you mean", asked Lukas," you don't really become smaller when you approach? And you are not really so gigantic if you are far awy, but rather that only seems to be the case?"
"Very correct", answered Mr. Tur Tur. "Therefore, I said I am a giant-in-appearance. Just like other people could be called dwarfs-in-appearance, because in the distance they look like dwarfs, although they are no dwarfs at all."

Own translation from: Ende, Michael: Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer, Stuttgart 1990, p.132