A Pan
What One Takes along

• Text zum Nachlesen

  The Pan about Itself

  I am a pan – or rather, an oven dish. I‘m glad to still be in use despite lacking a handle. I could have ended up in the trash long ago, but Elena keeps me. And I would keep her just the same.

  You see, we are both from Russia. She was born there, and I was cast there – not from iron, but from aluminum, and perhaps that was my luck. I am relatively lightweight for a pan. Maybe I‘m just versatile... at least I‘ve outlived nearly ten Teflon pans... Howsoever, I was taken along – from Siberia all the way here to Siegen. 5000 kilometers. First by train, then by plane, then by bus. Only with bags and suitcases – and beside me, only one other thing remains from that journey: a volume of poetry by Pushkin.

  So we are the last remnants that recall Siberia and this long journey, each in our own way: a piece of grand, old literature and a quite ordinary utensil, that‘s me, the pan. Or the oven dish...

  The handle is gone, I don‘t remember why. But I do remember all that we‘ve experienced and these memories I share with Elena – or does she share them with me?

  Zusatzinfos

  Thirty years ago, the owner of this pan, Elena Groß, emigrated to Germany with her Russian-German husband and their three-year-old son. The train journey from Omsk to Moscow lasted two days. They then flew to Hannover and finally took a bus to the Friedland reception camp for registration. She recalls how they stood in a crowd there, waiting – and how her husband suddenly asked, panic-stricken, where their little son was. She didn‘t know whether to laugh or cry, as he was carrying him in his arms the whole time.

  The Chest of the Siegen Bakers‘ Guild to the Pan

  I am the chest of the Siegen Bakers‘ Guild. Crafted in 1765 from oak wood and adorned with pretzels made of iron, I am familiar with the concept of „securing possessions“.

  Chests like me were kept in the guild hall or the house of the guild master and contained various items: seals, certificates, invoices, letters, minutes... When we were opened, it was often a ceremonial occasion because all these things were crucial for the guild and its members. They were highly official objects, unique and original...

  ...and that‘s why I find you so incredibly fascinating. I don‘t mean to offend you, but you are essentially „standardized“! There are countless pans that can do pretty much the same as you. Yet, you were transported 5000 kilometers in a suitcase, you are still in use today despite missing a handle. And you are exhibited here in a museum!

  This makes me reconsider what actually determines the value of things. I mean, what makes us important? Perhaps you are a much more important object than all the seals and certificates I once protected... Or you are important in a different way... perhaps in a more important way.

  For a long time, I thought I knew which things were important. Now I realize that it depends on many factors.

  What things are important to you? What would you take with you if you could only take a few things?