Sie können schnell wachsen – und erschlaffen schnell: Aufblasskulpturen sind mit Luft gefüllt, haben nie die „vollendete“ Form sondern entfalten Schönheit in der Bewegung…
Die ersten Reihen von Mais-, Pilz- oder Zucchini-Skulpturen wurden auf Feldern maschinell mit Gebläsen betrieben und bildeten als „Plantage“ (ab 2013) eine Analogie zur industrialisierten Landwirtschaft.
Es folgten Blumenskulpturen, die auch im Stadtraum erblühen konnten.
Mittlerweile müssen die Skulpturen durch Muskelkraft aufgeblasen werden („UpCycleTheStreet“, ab 2024).
„Plantage“ (DA Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst)„Plantage“ (DA Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst)„Plantage“ (DA Kunsthaus Kloster Gravenhorst)„Plantage“ mit AufblasmusikWelcome-bouquet (Hamburg)„POP-up-CORN“: audience at the ‚harvest‘„Plantage“ (Mais), aufblasbare Biogasanlage, 2014 (Künstlerdorf Schöppingen; Aktioin mit dem Heimatverein und „Plantage“)„Plantage“ (Mais), Installation in situ auf einem Hof in Heiden, 2014UpCycleTheStreet! (9/2023)UpCycleTheStreet!
As an allusion to the seven deadly sins, 7 trailers with a small hut on it are sent on a journey to 7 places for 2 years. I designed the sin of PRIDE within this mobile exhibition as a somehow „cool-non-communicative“ vehicle that reveals some deeper insights on the second view …
„Saligia-PRIDE“, trailer, wood, 50 fibre optic cables, iron handle, 5 spy holes, coated in black matte and partially glossy, 2019
Is a collaborative performance project with dutch and german visual artists, designers and musicians within the framework of the dutch-german artproject taNDem. It develops on aspects of „home“ and by this particulary the region called „Euregio“ where most of the artists live or come from. While the concept is to grow to a collective within the work, the process builds its own reality. From the initial idea of a random led choreography referring to John Cage’s ‚Europeras‘ to the introduction of many artists individual ideas and works, the community-building, the discussions of partially juxtaposed ideas of what performance means to the participants, the communication itself seems not only to be a challenge but an important basis of the whole project as an „artwork“ regardless the outcome.
Artists:
Tony Boiso, Stefan Demming, Renata de Frankrijker, Esther de Vries, Hanne Feldhaus, Jenny de Groot, Helena Hartmann, Mariëlle Meijerink, Frans Mensink, Michael ’Hille’ Rieken, Pier van Dijk, Laurens Westhoff
original idea / concept: S. Demming & M. Rieken; dutch lead partner for collaboration: Pier van Dijk;
UpCycleTheStreet! (Gelsenkirchen, 9/2023)Welcome-bouquet (Hamburg)Aufblasbare Biogasanlage, 2014 (Künstlerdorf Schöppingen; Aktion mit dem Heimatverein und „Plantage“)Aufblasbare Biogasanlage, 2014Inflatable sculptures include physical action – from 2023 on, this shall be changed to climate-friendly action!
Lecture Performance at „In-Lab: FGFG A Kitchen Debate“, Jan van Eyck academie, Maastricht (NL): Nowadays, modern farmers are considered „Agro managers“. As an alternative to cultivating big fields with monocultures, big inflatable sculptures of corn, flowers and vegetables were presented to the audience, that had to help with the harvest …
„POP-up-CORN“ was a pop-up installation during a Lecture Performance at „In-Lab: FGFG A Kitchen Debate“, Jan van Eyck Academy, Maastricht (NL) on invitation by Jessica Segall (march 16th, 2017)
12-channel-audio, double video projection, 6 blowers, inflatables, textile materials, lights, fog machine, light controlers; custom software, duration: 13’13“
„Jungle Camp“ is a sculptural media landscape of textiles and synthetics hosted in a building from the former textile industry.
This „instant-jungle” evolves and devolves as a technical biotope, performing the reappropriation of an industrial space by nature. The artificial landscape changes by changing light settings and the movements of inflatables. Sounds of growing, vivid flora and fauna create a polyphonic soundscape.
site-specific installation at the LWL-industrial museum Spinnerei / TextilWerk Bocholt, 2012
videosculpture: 1 paper box, 1 monitor, 1 player, clothes; actress: Sarah Hillebrecht, 2001
In an urban public space a passer-by is confronted with a video sculpture that looks like a woman creeping into a paper box. She reemerges, her body covered in brown fur while her face appears in a hole in the front of the box. Behind the screen she is looking peacefully into her inner self, singing and humming an old lovesong in Low-German.
(Won the OLB-media-award on the EMAF-festival 2002)
THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH 2 (2010 – 2014)
The traveling „SHOW“ is a fake circus in public space. In 2014 the audience was asked to make their own show. It also features the video „Just journey with them“ about two nuns that travel with a circus, and the spatial video installation The ShowShow.
THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARH 2 – LIVE!
An improvised show with local heroes in a tent – a fake circus as an intervention in public space, 2014
In a small town in Austria the project had its 14th stop and invited the neighbours to become part of it: we were looking for talents who were ready to present their performative capabilities during two weekends on stage.We were excited to welcome and present:
Miss Natalija with a real python, girls from the gym with a choregraphed performance, two gorillas performing a Schuhplattler (styrian folk dance), the local brass band with painted faces, two knights and her boss Margot (who also performed as Nina Hagen), the pakistani kids of the neighbour disguised as bankrobbers, yodelling Angie, retired Dr. Helmut Drexler as arabian storyteller and poet, half of a school class as Lucky Luke with a Pony, Cupsingers and HipHop dancers, a poodle playing football with three coaches, Bianca the rabbit magician, Michelle with a tight rope for drying her clothes, the strongest beatnik on earth, laughter yoga coach Ilse, the artist Alexander who impersonated a horse, a mosquito and a lion, a female Clown with her heavy metal playing boyfriend (on a guitar, unplugged) and Anita, the smallest princess on earth.
Every show was different depending on the presence of our local stars.
Stefan Demming as the director annouced every act and Mareike Hube accompagnied them with live music. Outside, the sideshow welcomed the audience.
„Videoloopmachine“ is a tool to generate audiovisual compositions from video or film footage in realtime. It operates with transformative loops and an adjustable frameset for a splitscreen. It permits to create slowly changing rhythms and offers control over 4 different video channels. It can been used to make a poetical live composition about specific topics, areas, cities and contexts. I aim to play it like an instrument and also play it together with musicians like I did with Paul Michael von Ganski who mainly helped with the programming, too.
Some more sessions with this tool include the video concerts within a project on forms of travelling
(documented journeys in a remix)
Developing / 1st(2nd) phase:
VLM – custom made software with F1-controler (concept by Demming/Rieken, programming by Michael Rieken 2016)
It allows to explore older movie fotaage as the basis for timebased collages and compositions. The footage for the first and proposed project comes from an east german tv-series from the 1980’s and will also be presented where it was shot in Marzahn. The district in the outskirts of Berlin is famous for it’s highrisers, that once were the most modern and comfortable housings from the GDR.
„Videoloopmachine“ is suited to produce one-channel-videos with a split screen of four in audiovisual performances. (The programming of VLM was done by Michael Rieken)
PLANTATION (PLANTAGE) consists of a growing number of inflatable plants, the project’s background is industrial agriculture. It grows series of plasic fruit, readymades as well as custom made forms. It explores temporary sculptural forms in their growing and declining process. The ephemeral sculptures were occasionally presented with live music made with wind blowing instruments (which is in german „Blas-musik“ while the inflatables may be called „Auf-Blas-Skulpturen“).
