Exhibition poster, designed by Jan 

Ruderal Residency

Exhibition

Ruderal residency took place in bleak conditions in the gutted concrete structure of a former ‘guest worker’ building in Lichtenberg, Berlin. The project; inititiated by Operation Himmelblick had us living in the building for a particularly cold february weekend after they transformed two rooms into a livable space complete with kitchen, windows and a wood burner. The following weekend we showed work that had been made or begun during our intense, warm, challenging, fun time together. 

When we think of home, perhaps we think first of the human ephemera; fridge magnets, dinner plates and family photos. But as the wind whips through the stripped building at Gehrenseestrasse, it’s clear how much material infrastructure is necessary to create the basic necessary conditions for home.

I don’t feel love or appreciation when I look at factories transforming raw materials into drywall, cabling and insulation. But without these sprawling industries our busy modern world would be a lot less cosy. With this sculpture i’m looking at the uncomfortable relationship between the destructive production of artificial materials and our personal experience of warmth and security. Introducing these two states to each other to find something both alive and non-dead. By giving this material its own voice, I hope to examine empathy for the artificial or the potential for life in the non-dead. The sounds that come from the insulation foam are an online AI’s interpretation for different house pets - dogs, cats and budgies, slowed down and layered, sounding something like dinosaurs.

Gehrenseestraße Wohnheime
Berlin
3.2.2023 -5.2.2023