Since 2003, the artist Yadegar Asisi, who was born in Vienna, grew up in Saxony and has lived in Berlin (West) since 1979, has been creating monumental 360° panoramas with a height of up to 32 meters and a circumference of up to 110 meters. What began as a project in a listed former gasometer in Leipzig has since developed into a studio with panorama houses in currently seven cities. In addition to his own buildings in Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin, Yadegar Asisi's panoramas have also been on display in partner locations in Pforzheim and Rouen in France since the end of 2014, in Lutherstadt Wittenberg since 2016 and in Hanover in 2017. A second building will open in Berlin in 2018.

As the exhibition architect of "Sehsucht - Das Panorama als Massenunterhaltung des 19. Jahrhunderts" at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn, Yadegar Asisi discovered the Panorama art space for himself in 1993. Since then, he has been exploring the possibilities of the panorama medium and continuously developing the art form. As a graduate of the painting course at the Berlin University of the Arts (now the University of the Arts), Asisi takes an academic understanding of art into account. He attaches great importance to perspective or the theory of form, color and pigment, among other things. "Anyone who has drawn an object has really understood it," confesses the admirer of the Renaissance painters Andrea Mantegna and Leonardo da Vinci.

Asisi composes the visually stunning panoramas from his project-related research archive of up to 50,000 photographs, drawings, sketches and paintings. He often undertakes extensive research and photo journeys on the respective theme to "collect material": e.g. to Brazil for AMAZONIA, to the Himalayas for EVEREST, to Australia for GREAT BARRIER REEF, to Turkey and the entire Mediterranean region for PERGAMON or through German and Central European countries for LEIPZIG 1813, LUTHER 1517 or DRESDEN IM BAROCK. In addition, following a story board discussed with scientists, elaborate photo shoots are carried out with amateur actors, extras and other equipment elements in order to obtain scenic images that Asisi incorporates into the architectural-topographical framework of the panorama.

Asisi puts a great deal of effort into scenic, historical, architectural and topographical details, using his preparatory work and the input of his core team to create the works from countless image layers on the computer before they are printed on three-metre-wide and 32-metre-long lengths of fabric, assembled and installed in the circular buildings. At the climax of the panorama's creation, often accompanied by an introductory exhibition, the inspired panoramist finalizes the giant circular images at the exhibition venue. Lighting and sound are set up at great expense to create the desired basic atmosphere as well as the respective day and night sequences.

A multidisciplinary team supports Yadegar Asisi in the realization of his projects in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Around 15 employees from the fields of creation, visual design, exhibition design, 3D modeling, matte painting, architecture, costume design, editing, project and cultural management work alongside the artist and contribute to the creation of the panoramas.

Source Grebe, Karsten: Renaissance of a medium from the 19th century (2017), https://www.asisi.de/presse/basisinformationen (as of November 14, 2019)