Voyeur, Voyeur, 2022
Lauda Air bag ("Service is our success"), handrolled cigarette with handwritten text (Sir, Alfred), plastic lid, brackets, 17 × 6 × 15 cm / Terminal, Terminal
Voyeur, Voyeur is a homage to Sir, Alfred (former Mehran Karimi Nasseri), who lived on a red cushioned bench, inside Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, for 18 years until his death in 2022.
Beginning in the late 1980s Sir, Alfred decided, at least momentarily, to settle into Terminal 1, a bustling part of the pre-departures lounge which resembled a shopping center. There was a McDonald's, an electronic store, the entrance to a hotel and hundreds of people, all too preoccupied with their own travel plans to notice him. Amidst it all, Sir, Alfred found a place near a window which overlooked an outside fountain- a view that would become achingly familiar.
As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, Sir, Alfred became a part of the Charles de Gaulle landscape. The chime of the intercom which accompanied flight announcements he heard hundreds of times a day. At night, he curled up on his red bench, his blue jacket serving as a blanket. He'd wake up early before the airport became swarming with passengers to maintain basic hygiene in the terminal bathroom. He made friends with a few airport employees, such as those at McDonald's, which provided nearly all of his meals.
He kept his mind from dwelling on the uncertainty of his situation by reading and writing. Airport employees would reqularly see Sir, Alfred's unmistakable scalp poking above a rectangle of newspaper surrounded by plumes of cigarette and pipe smoke.
Across the world, many others have experienced their own lengthy layovers, with several cases still ongoing. From high-profile figures such as Edward Snowden, seeking asylum is among the most common reasons individuals have found themselves trapped. Rejected from entering their country of refuge, unable to return home and with no other options than to remain where they are.
Examples of people living in airports voluntarily: Denis Luiz De Souza, who reportedly ran away from home as a teenager due to arguments with his stepmother, has remained in GRU international in Brazil for the last twenty-three years. Those who visit Terminal Two of the South Paulo airport will likely see him on his blue bench, McDonald's coffee cup in hand. After being given an ultimatum by his wife and in-laws to either quit smoking and drinking or move out of the house Wei Jianguo has lived inside Terminal Two of PEK Beijing International Airport for the last fourteen years. Bayram Tepeli ran away from family problems and worked at the ISL Atatürk Airport for a while. The Airport closed for commercial passenger travel in 2019, so he had to leave after 27 years. He now lives in SAW. Sabiha Gökçen Airport.
Curator: Anne Mager
Photo: Bozica Babic, Selma Gültoprak
Installation view: Kunst-Station Sankt Peter Köln // Kirche der Jesuiten