Martin Mosebach writes his books by hand. Between 1995 and 1997, he produced 172 very closely written pages for a novel provisionally entitled Das Lamm (The Lamb). The 575-page book was published in 2000 by Aufbau Verlag in Berlin as “Eine lange Nacht” (A Long Night). The handwriting of the original manuscript is minuscule, and deciphering the text is strenuous, useful working material for an author trying to keep a firm grip on his concept.

When Rebecca Horn saw the manuscript, she was enthusiastic about its aesthetic qualities and artistic strength. Every page is a picture that reveals the writer’s stream of thought and shows his concentration, precision, and artistic vision. She decided to make an artwork out of this “objet trouvé”. In 2002, she staged the story of the long night for a photo shooting on location at the original sites in Frankfurt/Main. Twenty-four photo-paintings are based on this material. The photographs’ distinctive multiple-exposure technique allows the story’s protagonist to fuse with the action’s settings. Overpainted by Rebecca Horn afterwards, the images connect the real world with the world of ideas. They observe and commentate. Fields and waves of energy are inscribed on the pictures while mythical creatures carry us into a fanciful and poetic transitional world.

The artists’ book Das Lamm draws all this material together: Martin Mosebach’s manuscripts are reproduced as facsimiles on 200 pages. Rebecca Horn’s photo-paintings, opulently printed on art paper, are inserted loose between the pages like bookmarks or notes. They are embedded in the author’s ideas and produce a vast new painting.

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www.rebecca-horn.com