The art object opens out a fan – a fan consisting of compartments (translator’s note: the German word “Fächer” means “fan”, but also “compartments” or “specialised areas of competence/knowledge”). This visualises the purpose of the depot: categorising, ordering and storing art objects – compartment by compartment or specialised area by specialised area. The depot is a system for maintaining order and for storage. But it is more than this: it is a living source of impulses and insights. The art object shows both: organisation by category and opening up. It gives access – in the form of a walk-through sculpture.

In this form, the art object consists of individual vertical walls. It is the colour that makes the walls into “Time Walls”. The darkened copper shade of the façade of the depot turns into an oxidised green, a step-by-step metamorphosis in gradations. In this way, it becomes possible to see and experience time – physical time, historical time, museum time.

The art object takes its appearance from the façade of the depot. It consists entirely of flat stelae, which resemble the slats of the façade: in their dimensions, their proportion, their vertical positioning and their rotation. The harmony of form is complemented by the harmony of colour. On the one hand, the darkened copper colour dominates the whole façade. On the other hand, the first green oxidised patches are already visible on the façade.

By making a clearly visible reference to the façade, the art object conversely impacts the façade. It transfers its meaning to the façade. In this way, the façade for its part adopts the artistic message of the object. It is imbued with the meaning of the object. It gains the ability to speak. The façade and the art object thus gain a common role as bearers of a message: they both assert the purpose of the depot. The art activates the architecture.