The latest piece of artwork to occupy the Temporäre Kunstbox at the Circus Hostel comes from the mysterious Jaime Pablo III, who delivered his “Obstacles 2010″ just before Christmas. Although the inspiration comes entirely from him, the production of the work itself required the help of numerous members of the Circus team as well as some friends and guests, so many thanks must go to Phillip.H, Jim, Judith, Sean, Phillip.G, Paul, Luba, Katrin, Milan and Mariane from Mexico. Below you will find some more pictures, plus a message from the artist.
obstacles two thousand and ten
berlin, diciembre AD 2010
at the heart of the piece is ganesha…one of the best known deities of hinduism and widely revered as the LORD OF OBSTACLES…both creator and averter of such and thus is held to be the possessor of both positive and negative attributes.
we are inspired…
…by this contradiction…running as it does to not only the heart of HUMAN NATURE but perhaps, even, to the HUMAN CONDITION in its ultimate essence.
many depictions of ganesha show his VAHANA…mount…which can be a mouse or an elephant or a tortoise or a ram or a peacock…but here in OBSTACLES he is mountless, floating atop the balloons and thus returning to the spirit of the original depictions of the deity. the balloons upon which ganesha floats reflect his DUAL ROLE as both a creator and averter of obstacles.
…in 99 red balloons nena warned us that a packet of balloons, inflated and released into the sky, could create a MISINTERPRETATION that could threaten the fragile peace of cold war europe (the world?). however innocently they are released they become an OBSTACLE…to peace and understanding…and not only this but perhaps to the eventual fall of the berlin wall – itself the most iconic obstacle of the twentieth century if not human history…for so long seen as a permanent DIVISION that was viewable from space…
+
but not just an obstacle…the balloon is a crucial element of angioplasty, a medical procedure where small balloons are inserted into blood vessels and inflated to removed any blockages near to the heart. the balloons thus remove the obstacles that keep the blood pumping. we return again to the very essence,
…of life
…of EMOTION
…of the soul
the combination of balloons and ganesha aims to both inspire but also provoke questions as to all of our roles as creators and averters of obstacles in our own existence.
jaime Pablo III
Party at the Brandenburg Gate…
Burp…well, the last of the left over turkey has been picked off the plate and the Christmas hangovers are receding, and it is now time to think about the next great event of the cold winter months…when the streets of Berlin turn into a loud, smokey and somewhat colourful celebration of the local population’s taste for fireworks launched out of an empty and wobby Beck’s beer bottle…yes, it’s NEW YEAR’S EVE!
We hope that you are all having a lovely Christmas Eve wherever you are in the world. This is always a time of year when you think about friends and family, especially those who are a long way away, so we just wanted to use this chance to send merry Christmas wishes to the whole Circus family, wherever you may be in the world.
If you have been following the Circus Blog, you will know that we have twice been visited by the Holy Pig, in 
One Year of the Circus Blog
15. Dezember 2010 in Art, Bars, Beer, Berlin, Circus Hostel, Circus Hotel, Circus News, Commentary, Design, Fabisch, Football, Goldman's Bar, Hidden Places, Nepal Project by Paul
On the 15th December 2009 we launched the Circus Blog, and the last twelve months have certainly been exciting at the Circus. In the finest traditions of those end of year “best of” lists that are currently filling magazines and television programmes, here are some of our favourite moments at the Circus over the past year and on the Circus blog.
In January we closed down the Circus Hostel for the best part of three months as we made a complete renovation of the building in time for the re-opening at Easter. Alongside the new design features, infrastructure improvements, and the funky new facade, we also put together some new services for Circus guests to help them explore Berlin, such as Jimbo’s Cheap Man’s Bus Tour, the Cwiki guide to Berlin complied by the Circus team, and the Urban Wanderer DIY Walking Tours.
It was also a busy year over at the Circus Hotel. We built a new library for Fabisch, launched the Circus Hotel Magazine, hosted a press conference for the Sparkasse Tourism Barometer, and installed some funky works of light art in the hallways, and in the courtyard. Talking of art, the Temporäre Kunstbox hosted its first exhibitions and happenings, whilst Sandra kept the blog supplied with “Stuff we like” around Berlin and beyond.
What else? Andreas left us for three months to travel through Southern Africa, sending back his impressions and reports from the 2010 World Cup before travelling on from South Africa to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. Jared kept us refreshed with his guide to best places to sip a cocktail in Berlin and beers on the road, whilst Jim headed to the hidden corners of Berlin, giving us all inspiration for exploration off the beaten track.
Along the way we went to a football game in Pankow, the boot record was broken in Goldman’s Bar, we held a fundraiser for children’s homes in Nepal, Konny got married, Tommy was born, we learned to juggle in the finest Circus traditions, an old friend won an important prize, and the Circus football team did us proud.
What a year, with a lot of fun and hard work along the way. Thanks to everyone in the Circus team for a fantastic 2010, and to everyone who has been following the Circus blog either here or on our facebook page.
Here’s to another great twelve months!
Paul