Municipal museums are usually dedicated to the task of making current and historical developments in art accessible to the citizens of the respective location. In addition, many municipal exhibition venues have the task of presenting and promoting regional art through exhibitions and acquisitions.

Under the title #vonhier, the Kunstmuseum Heidenheim has developed a format with which it fulfills this goal. At irregular intervals, the small temporary exhibition hall becomes a platform for the art of individual players in the Heidenheim art world.

Purgatory has a central meaning in Dante’s “Divine Comedy”, a work that has inspired countless creative minds to create their own works and interpretations. For the Heidenheim-based photographer Ignacio Iturrioz, the otherworldly levels described therein form the basis for his exploration of the “Palacio Salvo”, a building by architect Mario Palanti. The former hotel in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo is divided into different levels, which can be interpreted as hierarchies: from purgatory to heaven.

Before moving to Heidenheim, the photographer Ignacio Iturrioz lived in this impressive building. When he moved in, he soon realized that he was among like-minded people who shared his love of solitude, his fascination with the mysterious building and his love of the night. Using a 40mm lens and exclusively at night, he created dark and fragmented images consisting of intimate character images, snapshots and architectural details, which together form a portrait of a place and its inhabitants.

The project was awarded the Premio de Fotografía del Uruguay, the national prize for photography, and can be seen for the first time in Heidenheim.