Felix Kiessling

Das Numen Transformation
Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin 2011/12

Entering Haus am Lützowplatz, visitors found themselves in an immense landscape of 900 wooden pallets. Within thelandscape one would find pools of water and artificial hills of rising soil. The installation was a self-sufficient system,connected to the gallery spaces's outside garden.

A seven-meters-deep groundwater well was built. The excavated soil, relocated inside, was overgrowing with lupines, clover, watercress and mustard plants. Patches of mushrooms were implanted between the pallets. The water drawn fromthe well outside was purified by elements of Das Numen H20. It then was distributed via a versatile system of tubes tonourish the artificial landscape before finally circulating back to the ground outside.

Das Numen Transformation invited visitors to explore the relationships, dependencies and influences of complexbiological systems, resembling an artificial landscape wherein visitors felt themselves to be integral parts of a biggerentity.

Besides its sculptural and formal aspects, Das Numen Transformation sought to explore the impact of spatial qualities on social dynamics through a supporting program of film screenings, readings and discussions within the installation.

Various events took place: a video screening curated by Florian Wuest (with reference to the walled-in space of West Berlin in the early 1980s and its idiosyncratic artistic scene); an artist talk with Dr. Peter Berz (curated by Julian MalteSchindele and Mona El-Bira, and involved a discussion on the concept of transformation in philosophy); several curated readings and talks with Dr. Stefan Willer, Meredith Haaf and Leif Randt; a long Night of Transformation where guest artists (including Julian Francis Bisesi, Julius von Bismarck, Lorenz Estermann, Susanne Kohler, Hans-Henning Korb, Simen Musæus, Steve Locket, Aleksandra Mir, Márton Nagy, Astrid Nippoldt, Liz Schmidt, Guido van der Werde, Raul Walch, Matthias Wermke, Mischa Leinkauf and others) related to the topic of transformation.

Das Numen Transformation was realized with the friendly support of Karin Pott, Detlef Prinz, Rehau AG + Co and Dornbracht.

Das Numen Kollektiv
Julian Charrière, Andreas Greiner, Markus Hoffmann, Felix Kiessling

made with Lay Theme