The collaborative exhibition Hand/Hans/Haus was created by the artist Claudia Sacher in Essen some 30 years after her experience of finally finding a space as a young artist. That space was quiet and peaceful; in it, it was possible to invent a poetic world, held together primarily by charcoal drawings on the walls, ceiling, and floor.

In 1992, Claudia Sacher entered a small room beneath the mining bunker at the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen, Germany. At the time, the room offered protection from the many demands and difficulties of everyday life, allowing for a recharging of batteries and the courage to carry on. It functioned as a shelter—a room that felt as if it were suitable for giving birth or dying in peace.

Without anyone noticing at first, the artist began clearing the rooms of debris and filled the walls, ceiling, and floors with hundreds of charcoal drawings. After two years of drawing, the work ‘Das geschiente Katerbein’ (The Splinted Cat’s Leg) became a final thesis in the study of Communication Design at the University of Essen (now Folkwang University of the Arts).

Hans/Hand/Haus

The impetus for the exhibiton arose from accompanying a loved one to their death and experiencing their absence on earth. Creativity and artistic creation helped the artist learn and experience death as a kind of “gliding across.”

For the exhibition, Claudia Sacher (Hexham, UK) invited Viviane Straub (Gotland, Sweden) and Vincent Straub (Oxford, UK) to join her in exhibiting poetic images. These images were collected during the process of accompanying their father and grandfather through his dying process at CROSSING, an art space in Essen and one of their former shared places of residence. They were invited to the space by Katharina Lökenhoff.

The exhibition took place in CROSSING.Kunstraum, in October-November 2025, curated by Katharina Lökenhoff.

Combining photography, text, video, scultupte, drawing, and mixed materials, Hans/Hand/Haus was a collaborative exhibition led by the artist Claudia Sacher. On display were films, large and small drawings, paintings, sculptures, photographs, and texts. These were arranged in such a way that the space invited visitors to linger. Additionally, a collaborative poem, the Neverleave Tree, and printed exhibition text designed by Elly Hoehl was produced, and the film made about ‘Das Geschiente Katerbein’ was shown.

The exhibition text and poem is available on the website of Claudia Sacher, along with full documentation.

Photos by Mareike Tocha