PUU PUU PI DUU

Wood is familiar, it has always been present in the subjects and materials of my works. I have printed a lot of graphics from, on and to wood. Strong repetitive ornamentation accompanies it. Rhythm, repetition, is natural for graphic artists. Seriality, printing the same image over and over again creates movements that are choreographic. For this exhibition, I have printed wood. Skin was created on the paper from the patterns of tree bark. A snake creates its skin from time to time, and so does an artist. For decades, beautiful and strange sticks have secretly traveled from one continent to another in my bags. Now I am installing elements together and enthusiastically throwing myself into a material and spatial improvisational game. I have visited West Africa three times in recent years. The first time I collected driftwood that had washed up on the shore and carved them alongside other artistic work. The second time, carving took over. I noticed that my graphic practice was repeating itself in woodworking. During the dance, I communicated with the universe through my hands, I was fully present. My Beninese colleague Prudencio Agbodande followed my work and immediately understood what I was doing. He shares in his own practice a ritualistic repetition and understanding of material. He is not only a visual artist working with wood, but also a traditional king who knows the sacred customs of his culture on a deep level. We started an artistic dialogue and I invited him to participate in this exhibition. We have worked on the newest works in the exhibition in parallel in his palace.

This exhibition lives on variation and change. My ten-year performance work A Body Called Paula (2017-2027) has taught me the most about the subject, each new phase of it is a creation of leather. The work will also be presented in this exhibition. Performances on Sat 23.5., Sun 24.5., Tue 26.5. and Wed 27.5. from 12:00. You can choose to experience the work for just a moment, or you can spend more time with it.