A Story that Never Ends – Restoration and Mediation of Selected Media Artworks at the ZKM

Electronic and digital artworks present major challenges for public museums and private collections alike: Their technical components degrade rapidly, data carriers deteriorate, and software becomes unreadable. Without targeted restoration, a significant part of 20th- and 21st-century art history is at risk of being lost.

The ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe addresses this issue with unique expertise: For over three decades, it has been developing innovative methods for the preservation of media art – from rescuing historical videotapes to restoring complex digital installations.

In a current restoration project, seven significant media artworks are being made accessible to the public once again – many of them unseen for decades. The selected works include:

• Semaphora III (1966) by Edmond Couchot
• Der Fluss (1987) by Ulrich Bernhardt
• Les l’armes d’acier (1987) by Marie-Jo Lafontaine
• Virtual Sculpture (1981/2024) by Jeffrey Shaw
• Disappearance (1993) by Jeffrey Shaw
• Border Patrol (1994) by Paul Garrin and David Rokeby
• Touch Me (1995) by Alba d’Urbano

This project is made possible through the generous support of the Wüstenrot Foundation, which has long been committed to preserving our cultural heritage. Its focus goes beyond material conservation to include fostering public dialogue about how society engages with both its past and its future – making it an ideal partner for the ZKM.

The restored works will be on view from April 2025 in the exhibition The Story that Never Ends. The Collection of the ZKM – embedded within a dual narrative of media art history and the often invisible work of its preservation.