Which traces are yours? Which are mine? Where do they connect? Whether their origins are internal or external, all traces are deeply tied to the traces of others, forming a collective system of memory, which exerts influence on groups and individuals, often in unforeseen ways. The installation “living traces” invited visitors to introspect, connect and leave traces, to engage as much as they would like and explore the interconnectedness of remembering bodies.
An Orchid is not just a flower but an accumulation of layers of claims, projections and violence within and through time. Defined by a name, categorization, and stories about heroes and hunters it becomes a symbol for things it has not given its consent to.
A piece of driftwood is perhaps too big for one. It is shared amongst three friends, who build everything they could out of it. Lots of items, stories, memories and time – contained in a shed. A piece of driftwood that was once borrowed. It has provided and it has given. And now, it has been returned.
The multi-speaker sound installation conceived by Xu Chia-Chun, Jamira Estrada and Piero Scherer explored the interplay between shelter and isolation, protection and constraint. It invited the visitors to navigate a space where the boundaries of inside and outside, protection and limitation blur into an evocative soundscape.
Drawing on many influences, from displacement systems to futuristic utopian scenarios and habitual reflection, “Anthropocene” explores power structures in the context of sacrifice zones, dwelling upon the fragile equilibrium of protecting and using land and the unequal consequences that the waste of resources produce.
„Polypulse“ deals with the topic of protection through creating a vulnerable and intimate experience between strangers in a city environment. The audience is invited to come close, feel their heartbeat in the backdrop of the city noise and negotiate what it means to be part of a vibrating moment of shared experience.
The inside of the protecting greenhouse is warm, welcoming, a necessary condition for some of its living beings. However, the creatures living under its shelter may unknowingly start to deform. Protection turns into corrosion. They go from resisting to losing their self-care ability, eventually leading to a sense of hopelessness. This decaying metamorphosis could be considered a conspiracy theory. But how would we be able to truly know?
