Rasha Ragab and Christoph Nicolaus come from different worlds artistically,
geographically and culturally. Rasha Ragab has a Nubian origin. She was born in Cairo
and grew up in Libya and Egypt. Christoph Nicolaus is German with ancestors from
different parts of Europe. The two work, in addition to their individual artistic activities
since 2012 as a artist couple together under the name toffaha. In the process, they
create performances, videos, photographs, and lately, more and more musical works.
Journeys, moments, back binding
In the long tunnel under the train tracks, they let their individual works approach each
other from two sides and let them meet with collaborative works.
Rasha Ragab’s gesture of spontaneous immediacy meets long-term projects by
Christoph Nicolaus, some of which are closely connected to the railroad and
Regensburg and are based on momentary experiences.
Rasha Ragab on her installation Draw the void, draw the emptiness:
I closed my eyes and set to imagine the emptiness! That was the beginning.
There is a space between two objects. This space in between can be a line, a point, a
square or any shape. This is the emptiness I mean in my drawings. Forget about the
objects, but meditate on what is in between.
In the beginning, the idea was to combine each drawing on a 7 x 7 cm handmade paper
with a poem of my own and make a book out of it. Then I developed the idea further and
began additionally these free drawings on different materials, such as burlap and
ceramics. The drawing is done in a colorful, simple and spontaneous way.
Mukayu is a Japanese word meaning “non-existence”, “the natural state as it is“.
Finding meaning and purpose in emptiness, seeing the potential in a void evokes the
idea of an unadulterated utopia.
“An empty space is filled with light through its emptiness“.
Christoph Nicolaus on one of his exhibited works ZUGgeBEETE:
Stations and trains are special places.
Pulsating life, removed from everyday life, takes place in train stations and on train
journeys. The travelers experience farewell, arrival, sadness, joy, travel fever,
excitement, relaxation. A great many different emotions and thoughts are connected in a
very small space.
At the same time, a somehow mixed company moves in the train through the most
diverse areas, which are also full of life.
Let happen. Lines formed by train movements. What is decisive is what is between the
lines.