When I think of the Iron Curtain, I see a line: a dotted line on a map. In my mind’s eye, I’ve unfolded the paper and laid it out on the table. The rectangular map frames the winding waters, roads, and borders of the continent, turning them into artsy, colorful shapes within a strict, sober grid. I rest my left hand on the edge, press my right finger on Kirkenes, Norway, and follow the dots to the Black Sea.
So, I view history from a distance; perhaps too much of a distance, far removed from the human scale. How lovely that Paulien has decided to go there physically, passing all these dots. She’s traveling from Kirkenes to the Black Sea: cycling and filming, showing us what walls, lines, and curtains do to landscapes and their inhabitants. In May, she’ll cycle under the working title Curtains are Walls of Fabric.