Tag Archive for: Urban me

Urban me. Surrounded by… Workshops with Yoav Admoni

Urban me. Surrounded by… 1

On 8 and 9 July 2021, a workshop on the exhibition “Growing Concerns” by the artist Yoav Admoni took place in cooperation with the Max-Planck-Gymnasium.

Fifteeen 12th grade students took part in the workshop. On the first day, they visited the exhibition together with Max Holicki and collected their impressions, thoughts and questions.

The second day began with the exercise “Into the blue” in which the students worked with cyanotype paper (photosensitive paper). The pupils were given the task of collecting various objects that they found on their way to the Kunstverein. The found objects where arranged on cyanotype paper and then they were exposed to sunlight. This created visual documentations of the different routes the ystudents had taken to get to the Kunstverein.

It continued with a second exhibition visit with the artist. The students were able to talk to him and ask him questions. Admoni’s interdisciplinary work moves between sculpture, dance and performance. He often works site-specifically and deals with sociopolitical and geopolitical phenomena and human ideas of nature, landscape and corporeality. For the exhibition at the Kunstverein, he collaborated with the botanical garden and explored its colonial history. Through the conversation, the students gained insights into contemporary artistic approaches and were able to reflect on their ideas of naturalness.

After the conversation with Admoni, there was an excursion to the botanical garden. This trip was also documented by the pupils – this time with their mobile phone cameras. In small groups they filmed certain aspects that caught their eye on the way and in the botanical garden e.g. architectural elements, clouds, plants, floor coverings or red objects. Afterwards, these many different perspectives were put together to make a video.


Urban me. Surrounded by… 2

On 18 July 2021, a workshop on the exhibition “Growing Concerns” by Yoav Admoni took place in cooperation with the Nachbarschaftszentrum Grone.

Nine children between the ages of eight and ten and three companions took part in the workshop.
Yoav Admoni deals with socio-political and geopolitical phenomena and human ideas of nature, landscape and physicality. For the exhibition at the Kunstverein, he collaborated with the botanical garden and explored its colonial history. In the 17th century, numerous plants were transported from the colonised areas and settled in the botanical garden. The so-called Ward’s box was developed for the safe transport of the plants. Admoni reconstructed one for the exhibition at the Kunstverein.

Based on Ward’s box, the workshop was about making one’s own small biotopes. After visiting the exhibition together with Johanna Brummack and talking about it, the children were able to make small biotopes in glasses. Each child was given a large glass (5 litres) and could fill it with soil and active charcoal. Colourful pebbles could also be filled into the jars for decoration. Afterwards, the plants were planted and each child was allowed to take their own little ecosystem with them.

What you need to make your own biotope:
1 large jar (between 3 and 7 litres in volume / approx. 30cm x15cm).
300-400 grams of soil
50 grams of activated charcoal (mix between pebbles and soil to prevent mould growth)
2 – 3 small plants that need little water (cacti, succulents)
stones, pebbles, shells for decoration

 

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