This Black Forest wildlife themed art screen was created for the facade of the Sommerberg hotel in Bad Wildbad, Germany. The 9m x 5m screen was initially made to hide ongoing restoration work being done on the hotel. The photo above shows the top block, one of three blocks that completed the whole work. The wildlife silhouettes were created from tissue paper painted onto a semi-transparent fabric. The black acrylic paint waterproofed the tissue paper and allowed it to bind with the fabric. Once the screen was hung on the facade, which was no mean feat, it was backlit at night enhancing the wildlife silhouettes. However strong winds on the hill often proved too much for the fixtures holding the screen and they frequently needed replacing. This was created during my first stay on Sommerberg between 2006-2012. I returned to Sommerberg in 2018 after several years in Taiwan and Spain.

Below is the artscreen in progress laid out on the abandoned hotel restaurant floor. The image shows the two top panels completed and outlines marked for the final panel. Off-cuts of tissue paper used to create the silhouettes with black acrylic paint lie scattered across the fabric.

Below the artscreen at night when mounted on the hotel facade and backlit.

Sommerberg is a small village situated at the northern end of the Black Forest and overlooks the town of Bad Wildbad. It lies at 750m elevation and can be accessed by road or various well marked pathways or by a funicular railway that runs frequently between Sommerberg and Bad Wildbad.