Mi Casa es tu Casa
The installation reflects on the connection between ritual, healing, death and life. It is a system, that was created to exist and grow in an almost unreal and dead place. A vault cellar becomes home to an organic system made for it’s conditions. Ivy overgrows memories, trauma and materials to protect and hide them in context of the places history where forced labor during the Nazi era took place. No wind, no noises, no visible life. This at the same time intensive presence mixed up with the dark history that forced labour during the Nazi era took place here, needed a careful artistic position. The fact of still noticeable suffering of the place lead to the conclusion to pick it literally from the air. Day and night are not noticeable, so in a way it is cut from time. As the cellar had a high humidity, the idea was to create a living system in it, that is abled to communicate with the space and visitors without showing explicit and obvious works.
Installation views, 2025, Glue Berlin, Organic installation, plants, material, painting
Stagnation and Growth
After checking conditions, it cleared out, that it would be possible to still grow bring organisms in it, that live between stood still and growing. The system stand still at natural daytime (outside the building). In this time, candles where burning around the installation, barely bright enough to keep ivy living, but not enough to grow. But even enough air circulation due to the temperature difference, micro organisms and spores could spread out. During the natural night, after visits, a small full spectrum light was installed, gave the ivy the possibility to grow. With more time, implemented fungal spores had the chance to build their network. The combined materials like soot, straw, organic glue, black soil and sawdust, would have been their base to conquer. Molecules from vetiver root oil was diffused into the air, to let the visitors feel the connection to the world of not visible memories and microorganisms and at the same time calm them down.
Installation view at Glue Berlin 2025. Steel construction, wire mesh, tires, black soil, microorganisms, hand-tied corn nests filled with compost, hay, straw and planted ivy.
