Kreuzung / Crossing, 1994

Ausstellung Rheda Wiedenbrueck, Deutschland

In 1994 I was one of fifteen students that were invited to live and work for several weeks in a public garden in a small town in Germany. The symposium was followed by an exhibition in the old Orangerie of the park as well as outside - on site.

The two pieces that I was able to realize during the symposium underline basic concerns that are part of my ongoing process of working and questioning.

I was interested in working directly with the elements, interfering with what was there rather than just producing something on top of it. Parts of the garden were referred to their natural stage, moisture areas that have a very high groundwater level. This was indicated throughout the park in drawings, cross sections of the soil mounted on panels along the path.

I started to think about the groundwater level as a layer of water surrounding the earth. Pulsing up and down and constantly influencing the natural as well as the human world.

The project "crossing" started with the designation of a point on a map with an x. The corresponding site was located in a moist pasture and together with a friend I set out to dig a hole in the shape of the x in the ground. Our bodies were the measurement (length and width) for each of the four sides of the hole. We shovelled out various layers of soil until we reached the ground water level. The idea was to open the ground for a glimpse into the closed system in order to close it again with the unearthed layers. The diverse layers were turned around and put back in the opening. What remained was a shape of an x with piled-up earth, which soon would be overgrown and overtaken by natural growth. We fabricated a sign that was installed at the path and indicated the site with an arrow as well as the shape of the form. A series of slides was shown during the exhibition and the following text was published:

Working with landscape. Working with nature. In a wildlife preserve. But also in a park, a place for visitors.

What is more logical than working directly with the elements? Adding nothing, inserting nothing, but taking, forming and giving back.

A park as a space for living and working. Two extremes coming together: geometrically landscaped areas, sorted, adapted, pruned/cut back, arranged in colour patterns, treated with weed killer, cultivated, guarded. And wildlife preserve, wild/ unkept, unusual, unfertilized, diverse, strange, familiar, only partially accessible for visitors, green, muddy, murky, alive.

The place chosen is an unformed piece of land. Area framed by trees, flower beds, trails.

The idea is a volume, a form, which is to be dug into the ground, the soil. An invisible sculpture. Maybe a few traces which catch your eye. An object which cannot easily be consumed. The form is made, thus fully there. It faces the element water.

We are digging a hole in the form of a cross, cross in the sense of crossing, designation of a focal point in the marsh area.

With shovels and spades we are removing layer upon layer of soil, until water covers the bottom of the hole. It is like a new opening in our world. An otherwise invisible plane, changing everything as important element of the world. Water emerges and remains an uncertain mass, mud, water, mirror image. A glimpse of sky within the earth. A closed system.

It is raining. The water is digging. There is motion, grinding, mud. The opening in the soil is like a disruption. All layers are slowly folding. Falling down. Wanting to close.

We are closing our form with the layers of dirt previously unearthed. What remains are visible traces. A narrow path cut through the grass, marked by a sign alongside the trail. A mowed circle. Soiled grass. Grass removed in the form of the cross, layers of soil. With time, these traces will fade away. The elements are closing the circle.

What is important is the knowledge of the process. Working with the soil as well as within your own person. Not a consumption of sculptures, but searching for concentration. You are not looking and understanding, but opening up and allowing yourself to follow a path. Totally submerged. Maybe not fully comprehending the process, but rather starting your own quest.