


10. Februar, 2024
powder coated stainless steel, gold-plated stainless steel
831 x 678 x 554 cm
The memorial, which is being built on the former site of Munich Riem Airport, is dedicated to Arie Katzenstein, who died during a terrorist attack at the airport on February 10, 1970. Three bombs detonated during the attack and Katzenstein, who threw himself onto one of the bombs, saved the lives of all the other passengers present on that sad day with his courageous act.
The inspiration for the work is, on the one hand, Arie Katzenstein's sacrifice and, on the other, the location itself. The movement consists of three nested frames that are connected by three clocks. The design of the clocks is based on the clock that was located at the airport tower, which now houses the Brainlab headquarters in front of which the memorial will stand.
The times of the three detonations are displayed on the watches, 12:49, 13:02 and 13:20, which are also engraved in bronze text on the stainless steel frames. Arie Katzenstein's name is also engraved on the underside of the smallest frame, which appears to support the rest of the structure due to its position in the movement.
Here, space, time and person come together to create an entity in which it becomes clear how these instances interact with each other and how certain events arise through coincidences and coincidences and leave their immaterial imprint in the history of mankind. This idea of coincidence, but also that of the reactive sacrifice of people like Arie Katzenstein, who find themselves in such a time capsule, is illustrated by the filigree and perspectively flexible structure of the work. Depending on where you stand, the clocks are positioned differently in relation to each other, sometimes interlocked, sometimes floating freely in space, which also represents the historical multi-perspectivity of this event. Above all, however, it becomes clear that despite the different perspectives, the construct inevitably has a center around which the events revolve, namely Arie Katzenstein and his courage, which saved the lives of so many other people without hesitation.