On-Site Residencies
Amidst the tapestry of existence, we yearn to ascend beyond the realms of the known...
Our spirit extends in a silent cosmic plea to touch the infinite...
Each moment a revelation, as we embrace the unknown...
Infinite, we become, in the universe we’ve flown...
Transcendence is an exhibition with the outcome of an eight-week transdisciplinary residency program organized by Flusslab. Seven artists from Argentina, Mexico, and Belarus were invited to come to Coswig (Anh.) to realize new projects in-situ. How different settings and surroundings change one’s perception, thoughts, and behavior was the backdrop idea of the residency. In other words, the symbiotic relationship between the space and oneself and how they impact each other. Each artist’s work resonates with the concept of transcendence - both inwardly and outwardly.
At the heart of these artistic endeavors lies the exploration of human experiences - the ceaseless interplay of emotions, memories, exploration, and revelations. Through diverse mediums, the artists guide us to delve deeper and contemplate the enigma of identity, memory, emotion, and the intricate web of connections between humanity and its surroundings. In these explorations, we are compelled to transcend the surface of existence and delve into the enigmatic realms within.
‘Resonating Patterns: Exploring Nature in Shadows' invites the observer to peer deeply, invoking contemplation upon the intricate dance of light and shadow. The shadows transcend mere absence and transform into compelling motifs, revealing the profound aesthetic interplay between the ethereal and the tangible.
"In shadows I see the absence of light,
traces remind me of existence.
It is fascinating how instinct works differently when we are in nature. Our senses becomes sharper and brain starts recognizing patterns. Perhaps, the same patterns repeated at different scales. The core elements - earth, wind, water, and fire - together creates this existential soup.
This body of work was developed in Coswig (Anh) during the FlussLab residency program in September 2023. Every day, I took a walk through the wilderness spending time in nature. On sunny days, I enjoyed the green pastures overlapping in a wild harmonic chaos. While floating in the river, where lights and shadows were scrubbing the humid surface of water, I observed the geometric patterns of the rocks and woods by the coast. I heard the crows cracking the nuts, fishes jumping during golden hours, bees trying to drink my beer, woodpeckers knocking the trees at a rhythmic beat.
I hunted shadows with my paper and pencil, tracing the unseen forms that appear on a plain surface of the paper on a sunny day. Capturing the silhouette, rescaling them on fabric, and coloring them with natural pigments have been my workflow. These individual compositions seamlessly come together as a cohesive whole, much like the harmony found in nature."
‘Inter.connection’ is an artistic dialogue, where each day births a new watercolor, mirroring the artist’s evolving communion with nature. It serves as a poignant reminder of humanity’s position within the delicate web of existence.
"The paths are connections.
Do they have a destination?
I walk towards nature.
Feeling hope and being present.
Each day a new watercolor appears.
Plants know I'm observing them.
patience is essential while I am painting.
sounds and aromas are my guidance.
Each painting takes me to a unique moment
and reminds me each day is different.
This experience is a new way of seeing life.
And an opportunity to dialogue with myself.
I take something out of the landscape and transform it into a part of me,
and simultaneously a part of me is being part of the landscape.
It's an exchange, an interconnection.
I live each painting as an experience of love.
Sometimes I feel uncomfortable, and it's okey.
I know I will find the answer if I learn to stay.
Suddenly I become part of the landscape."
‘Tlalli’ is an ecocentric approach through soil chromatograms and experimental poetry that addresses a new narrative regarding permaculture, particularly sustainable agriculture. The ongoing project is a conversation between urban gardeners and the soil they work with, emphasizing the subjective connection, labor, and relationship between them in an alliance based on cooperation and reciprocity.
For this project, the artist visited self-sustainable urban gardens, spent time with the gardeners, shared a meal and took soil samples from specific parts of the gardens. The soil chromatograms and the (eco)poems emerged from such conversations with the gardeners and their soil. Soil chromatography is a photographic process where finely ground soil is absorbed by filter paper coated with silver nitrate. Due to the capillary action, the ‘picture’ appears. It is a low-cost method for analyzing soil’s chemical and biological state.
The experimental poems are crafted through a meticulous analysis of soil chromatograms, weaved in words collected during interviews with the gardeners. These words vividly capture the bond they share with their land and the profound reverence they hold for the soil.
At its core, this project delves into the intricate interplay between human beings and their surrounding environment, exploring their coexistence. It serves as a crossroads where (eco)poetics and image intersect, fostering a platform for addressing and transitioning toward more sustainable practices. Through the fusion of such scientific and societal narratives, we find a pathway towards a more harmonious coexistence on earth.
"Anisotropy is the transformative effect of variations on a figure or body’s scale. This project navigates the realms of variation, vibration, semiotics, and the idea that human senses are attuned to vibrations.
In this project, I undertake the deconstruction of shapes and sounds, striving to decode their essence and unearth the primary in a world often marked by binary oppositions. This journey leads me to a binary interpretation of concepts like sound-noise, space-silence, horizon-drone, and land-air.
Withing my artistic palette, I manipulate visual and auditory elements, generating variations in form, time, extension, and iteration. As I fracture time and forms, polyrhythms and parallel patterns emerge, unveiling multiple coexisting universes that evolve independently. Images harmonize with sound, just as sound synchronizes with images, crafting novel soundscapes and visual landscapes.
In my sound and visual design, I delve into micro-montage, randomness, indeterminacy, and partial automation. My sonic palette blends analog and digital, featuring sinuous tones, soundscapes, noises, drones, percussions, scratches, and glitches. These sound undergo electroacoustic transformations in the studio before harmonizing with visuals.
The visual materials in this project encompasses videos, generative images, archived visuals, and micro videos. For this project, I have documented my journeys through Coswig (Anhalt) and Berlin, incorporated archival satellite images, and integrated generative images with geometric patterns, sound waves, photos, and scenes depicting artist Duilio Tapia’s explorations and iconic city landmarks.
Through these works, I aim to provoke contemplation on our relationship with and attention to the overwhelming influx of information and stimuli that engulf us. What truly captures our focus, and what motivates our actions?
To summarize, ‘Anisotropy I’ and ‘Anisotropy II’ invite viewers to transcend binary realities, exploring the dynamic interplay of form, sound, and space in a multisensory journey."
The project "31 days of acceptance" works with the topic of eating disorders as a triptych: installation, video and photo. Each of the three parts complements and interacts with each other, revealing the artist's intention and translating her personal experience. For the author herself, this project is a small experiment: she explores her body and the habits that have remained in her life after her eating disorder worsened. The main goal is not only to share her story through art, but also to get closer to her body by "distancing" from it.
The photo project is presented in the form of a calendar on the wall, where each day is shown as one polaroid photograph and a note, in which the artist tries to reflect and track her state of mind during this process. The 31 days symbolizes that usually a person needs one month to develop a new habit. During this time Dasha made one picture every day, adopting poses of women from famous paintings. This format was not accidentally chosen. The artist, as a person who works a lot with other people and has a direct relation (and love) to art, is able to see the beauty of different bodies. She perceives them as they are, but at the same time criticizes her own body for not being "perfect". The reason is that she sees other
people's bodies through the lens of art, so in this project she wants to distance herself from self-criticizing her body by taking it outside of "real life". Polaroid photo was chosen because, unlike digital photography, it can't be photoshopped. art residency, in which three other female artists also participated. The women, from different countries and cultural backgrounds, appeared to be affected by the same trauma. During the process of creating the work, the women artists helped and took turns photographing Dasha every day,
sometimes also adding drawings that they associated with her. One of the foundations of the patriarchal system is to make women feel like rivals rather than partners. Many of the paintings were painted by men and showed their view of women, this was also reflected in life. With this project, Dasha Brian wanted to break down this wall and also look at herself through the eyes of other talented women who didn't see her as a competitor, but as an ally.
It all boils down to trying to take power over your body, take control and make people see you and your body the way you present it, not the way society tries to show it. Nudity makes you both vulnerable and powerful at the same time.
The installation represents the white piece of translucent fabric that can be seen in some of the paintings depicted in the photo project. The fabric is inscribed with words that have an immediate association and meaning for the artist related to her experience with an eating disorder. This refers to the habits she developed over the years of anorexia, bulimia, overeating and starvation. The words that are reflected on the fabric are excerpts from diaries, notes, and quotes from people who have stayed in the artist's memory and influenced her perception of herself. The main goal is to show the play of textures and forms, how the fabric looks static on the wall of the gallery space and how it looks in the video on the artist's moving body.
The main idea of the video is to simultaneously add a bit of context and personal history to the work (in order to make the project more accessible), but also to use various associative images to visually depict the chosen topic. One of the key images is that the artist brings in paintings whose poses she has statically captured in the photo project to show the body in motion.
The Memory Forest is a poignant tribute to individuals who were abducted by the Armed Forces in the province of San Juan, Argentina, from 1971 to 1983. Inaugurated in 1992, this forest features trees symbolizing the 65 individuals who never returned, nor were their remains ever found. Current data suggests a total of 130 missing individuals, underscoring the need to rekindle our collective memory.
This space serves as a platform for narrative and reflection on human rights violations, offering a means to transcend the horrors endured. It's a place to seek solace in silence and prepare for a sensory experience, particularly one that delves deep into the realm of sound.
From an architectural standpoint, we contemplate the specialization of memory and what precisely is archived within it. In our quest for understanding, we juxtapose two maps, aspiring to create a composite map representing a place to feel safe.
One map depicts the geometric pattern of the golden spiral, symbolizing the organized growth of memory. The other map remains void or markings until closer examination reveals faint traces created by the play of light on its surface.
The first map corresponds to the memorial honoring the victims, while the second represents the forest, where the double helix of vortices maps the aerial paths of bird songs. Between these maps lies a detour map, illustrating those who deviated from the established path toward the forest in response to the calling sounds within.
In a forest what sounds surround us, and what grants us a sense of security?
The key lies in discovering a space for improvisation and sound exploration to attain the right resonance. To achieve this, we must follow instructions guiding our vocal interactions and dialogues.
Amidst the complex emotions of sorrow and helplessness that memories of violence evoke, we must remember the importance of encouraging diversity and dissent. Differences are integral to our nature, forming the basis of our ideologies, the linguistic viruses that perpetually disrupt and question. Without these deviations and crises, without ideas that ponder the opposites, language would stagnate as a mere institution, void of vitality. Embracing these uncertainties and questioning allows language to remain alive, consistently exploring our existential inquiries: who we are, what we are doing, and why are we here?
As sentient beings, we all grapple with these questions, from stones and plants to birds and even inanimate objects. It’s this sense of wonder, this contemplation of what if we do things differently, that opens up linguistic possibilities and grants us the freedom to break free from helplessness in the face of horror. We cannot remain entrenched in horror; we must visit it, remember it, and use it as a springboard for projection and growth
Architecture, too, poses its own questions: How is memory spatialized? Here, the anti monument model of the golden spiral delves into the earth in search of organic sounds, engaging in a dialogue with the vortex module of the forest that captures sounds from the sky. These instructions bridge both maps.
