Media Art · Animation · Projection Mapping

Architecture, memory and visual transformation through contemporary digital media.

Olaf Rauch is a German media artist, photographer and curator whose interdisciplinary practice connects urban space, cinematic image-making, generative systems and immersive media.

50+

solo and group exhibitions in Germany and abroad since 2007.

13

video works and media projects in the current project gallery.

2:23:36

Running time of all video works by nullkunsteins.

Selected Works

Project Gallery

Projection Mapping, Architecture · 2026

Resonant Schiller

0:00:30 · 3840 × 2160 px

Details

Short video created for the Genius Loci Weimar 2026 projection mapping competition. The video was conceived specifically for the façades of Schiller's House in Weimar.

Projection Mapping, Architecture · 2026

Temple of Democracy

0:00:30 · 3840 × 2140 px

Details

A short video for the Genius Loci 2026 video mapping competition in Weimar. The video is designed for the facades of the Nike Temple.

Projection Mapping, Architecture · 2026

Save the Ocean!

0:01:29 · 768 × 1024 px

Details

Entry submitted for the Faro International Video Mapping Festival 2026, Portugal.

Projection Mapping, Architecture · 2026

Irrlicht

0:01:18 · 768 × 1024 px

Details

Entry submitted for the Faro International Video Mapping Festival 2026, Portugal.

Projection Mapping, Architecture · 2026

Rhythmic Structures

0:01:20 · 768 × 1024 px

Details

Entry submitted for the Faro International Video Mapping Festival 2026, Portugal.

Video Installation, Generative Art · 2026

Fractal World I

0:07:50 · 3072 × 768 px

Details

FRACTAL WORLD I is the opening chapter of a larger audiovisual cycle exploring the hidden patterns of our world—a journey through science, the cosmos, art, and imagination. The works of the FRACTAL WORLD cycle can be presented in a variety of formats: - as a conventional widescreen projection in cinemas or on bright, smooth façades in public spaces - as an immersive installation using three projectors (1024 × 768 pixels each) in dark indoor environments. The projectors are arranged in a U-shaped configuration, with each projector displaying one third of the overall screen.

Projection Mapping, Architecture · 2025

Reformation - Revolution - Freiheit

0:00:30 · 3840 × 2160 px

Details

Short video created for the Genius Loci Weimar 2025 projection mapping competition on the theme of "Freedom." The video was conceived specifically for the façade of St. Mary's Church in Weimar.

Public Video Installation · 2021

Time Signals

1:33:43 · 1920 × 1080 px

Details

Public video installation created for the 700th anniversary of the City of Bochum. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the installation was presented in shop windows at various highly frequented public locations, including district offices, the Anneliese Brost Musikforum Ruhr, the Kortum Society Bochum, and other venues throughout the city. It was specifically designed so that viewers could gain insights into the history of their city even when watching only short excerpts. Historical texts and research: Dr. Frank Dengler Historical image material: Markus Lutter (City of Bochum)

Video Animation, Exhibition · 2020

Unknown Territory

0:13:21 · 1920 × 1080 px

Details

The media installation ‘Unknown Territory’ was produced for the international photography exhibition urbEXPO 9 in autumn 2020. ‘Unknown Territory’ looks back at past editions of urbEXPO and shows the fleeting nature of abandoned places before the exhibits of urbEXPO 9 are presented.

Video Installation, Exhibition · 2015

De Profundis

0:09:24 · 1024 × 768 px

Details

After three successful editions, the international exhibition series urbEXPO was forced to leave its previous venue in 2015. Due to extensive renovation work, the Rotunde – the former Bochum Central Railway Station – was no longer available. Through the organizers' network, however, a new and extraordinary exhibition venue was found in the historic Schlegel Brewery, located in the heart of Bochum. Originally, urbEXPO 2015 was planned to take place in the vast, labyrinthine fermentation cellars of the former brewery. Due to building regulations and safety requirements, this concept had to be abandoned. Instead, the exhibition was presented from July 31 to August 30, 2015, in the former headquarters of the Schlegel Brewery. The video installation presented here premiered on July 31, 2015, as part of the opening event held at Christuskirche Bochum. As the exhibition spaces were too small to accommodate the approximately 400 expected guests, the opening was deliberately relocated to the church opposite the exhibition venue. In addition to the current edition featuring international lost places photography, urbEXPO 2015 also presented a comprehensive special exhibition showcasing works by recipients of the European Architectural Photography Prize from 1995 to 2013. The video installation begins with abstract animations of futuristic worlds before shifting its focus to the two central locations of urbEXPO 2015: the Schlegel Building and Christuskirche Bochum. Particular attention is given to the history of the new exhibition venue and its significance for the city of Bochum. In the later sections, the artists participating in urbEXPO 2015 are introduced. Combining documentary elements with an atmospheric audiovisual narrative, the work can also be understood as a tribute to an extraordinary site of industrial heritage and to the international community of urbEXPO.

Video Installation, Exhibition · 2014

esoto

0:08:33 · 1024 × 768 px

Details

esoto tells the still relatively young story of the international exhibition series urbEXPO in an approximately eight-and-a-half-minute audiovisual composition, tracing its development from its beginnings in 2012 to the 2014 edition. The central visual element of the track is the key visual of urbEXPO 2014, which also served as the title motif for posters, flyers, and the accompanying exhibition catalogue. Starting from this image, a slow and deliberately restrained audiovisual environment unfolds, placing the evolution of the exhibition at the center of the narrative. In the final sequence, the artists participating in urbEXPO 2014 are introduced. Their names and places of origin appear as a tribute to the international character of the project, highlighting the diversity of the artistic positions involved. esoto premiered at the opening of urbEXPO 2014. Throughout the entire exhibition period, the work was presented as a large-scale projection in the central entrance hall of the venue and was shown continuously in a loop during opening hours. Conceived as a slow and atmospheric work, esoto can be understood as an audiovisual reflection on memory, development, and international exchange within the urbEXPO exhibition project.

Trailer, Exhibition, Advertising · 2014

Trailer urbEXPO 2014

0:00:16

Details

The promotional trailer was produced for the international photography exhibition urbEXPO 2014. The clip was shown for two months on the outdoor display of the Ticket Shop in Bochum.

Artist

Biography & statement

Download PDF

Olaf Rauch, born in Duisburg, Germany, in 1966, lives and works in Bochum. Largely self-taught, he has developed an interdisciplinary artistic practice over more than three decades, encompassing electronic music, photography, animation, moving images, exhibition projects and site-specific media installations.

Architecture and urban space remain central themes throughout his work. Rauch’s practice increasingly focuses on the creative potential of artificial intelligence, generative image systems and spatial media. He approaches AI not as an end in itself, but as a conceptual and visual tool for revealing unexpected connections between history, symbolism and contemporary culture.

For Rauch, projection mapping transforms architecture from a static object into an active narrative medium. His works seek to reveal hidden layers of meaning within places and structures while connecting historical context, collective memory and contemporary visual culture.

CV

Artistic Activities

since 2025

Intensive engagement with video mapping as a spatial extension of animation and architecture.

2024–2025

External consultant and curator of the exhibition Lost Places, Archaeological Museum Hamburg.

2020–2021

Concept and production of Time Signals, a public video installation for Bochum’s 700th anniversary.

2018–2019

Animations and visual effects for Emil Schult’s Trans Human Art Critics.

2011–2020

Organizer and curator of the international photography exhibition urbEXPO 1 to 9.

2010–2012

Organizer and curator of the art festival ARS URBANA.

2009

Co-curator for photography at the art festival Vuela del arte in Spain.

2008–2014

Co-curator for photography at the 1st and 2nd Ruhr Biennale.

since 2007

Participation in more than fifty solo and group exhibitions with a focus on lost places, architectural photography, industrial heritage and visual culture.

1985–1998

Work with SynthWorX, a multimedia collective combining electronic music with slide and video projections in strictly thematic cycles and concepts.

Contact

For exhibitions, screenings and collaborations.

olafrauch2@googlemail.com