On the occasion of Alan Michael's exhibition at the Halle für Kunst, author Oliver Corino will read from the latest edition of Architectural Fathers by Canary Wharf from the book series of the same name. A fictionalized form of architectural criticism, the new book in the series Project Birdcage, is an examination of the spatial and economic consequences of the 2008 economic crisis. Similar to the symbolic spaces depicted in Alan Michael's paintings, the novel is the construction of a symbolic-fictional arrangement in which political reality and the fictional characters' realm of agency coalesce.

The reading will be held in English. After the reading there will be a conversation between the author and Ann-Kathrin Eickhoff, Artistic Director of Halle für Kunst Lüneburg, in English and German. 

Architectural Fathers by Canary Wharf:

Architectural Fathers by Canary Wharf is a serialised memoir written by the daughter of various men involved in the evolution and construction of London’s second financial district, Canary Wharf. Like shards of a broken mirror each chapter reflects a different father from a different vantage point of the development’s history in this multi-layered portrait of some of the world’s most sought after office, retail and residential space.

Architectural Fathers by Canary Wharf: Project Birdcage: 

After the Prime Minister of Qatar has a major heart attack at Royal Ascot, it’s the Queen who has to operate. Now there’s a reason why eighty-two-year-olds don’t carry out quadruple heart bypasses, no matter how confident the Queen may be. To make things worse the small print of the Barclays contract, drawn up by Canary to grease another £4 billion investment from Qatar, states that she has to be present at the operation. But Canary’s no medic... and what if Her Majesty kills the Sheikh?

Those hoping Canary Wharf’s memoir for the year 2008 would contain some information that could be used to convict her father Roger Jenkins of fraud will be sadly disappointed. Because what Canary presents us with here is an internal dream-odyssey, comprising all that remains for her of the banking crisis. Ignorance meets complexity head-on in Project Birdcage, the thrilling new chapter of Architectural Fathers by Canary Wharf.

The reading is part of an ongoing collaboration with the Leuphana University-co-organised project Publics Between Fact and Fiction, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Institute of History and Literature Cultures. Please note that for visiting Halle für Kunst a proof of vaccination, proof of recovery or an official test result is required (3G). To attend the reading register via info@halle-fuer-kunst.de.