all hands on: Weaving
24.5.22 – 26.5.26 / MEK Museum Europäischer Kulturen / Berlin
weaved sculpture/installation as an artistic addition to the special exhibition on the subject "Weaving" Museums Europäischer Kulturen – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin in Kooperation mit CARMAH und dem Studiengang Europäische Ethnologie der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, dem Studiengang Europäische Medienwissenschaft der Universität Potsdam und FH Potsdam sowie der Gartenarbeitsschule Steglitz-Zehlendorf.
curators: Sofia Botvinnik & Judith Schühle
artisans: Ralf Eggert, Fred Jacob and Klaus Titze
The exhibition 'All Hands on: Weaving' explores the intangible cultural heritage of braiding techniques. Braiding is a universal language that is thousands of years old and primarily exists as a regional language, as it involves weaving what is needed locally from materials available in the surrounding landscapes. These materials can include grasses, split woods, thin branches, hair, ropes, and so on. At the same time, braiding is a fundamental form of abstraction, which is why it has always extended into the language of visual art and philosophy. In braiding, surfaces are created from linear materials and curved into spaces.
Olaf Holzapfel, together with master weavers Klaus Titze, Ralf Eggert, and Fred Jakob, has created a 60-square-meter installation titled 'The Woven Garden' for the exhibition. This installation is an immersive spatial experience. The woven walls surround the visitors, enveloping them and conveying the intensity of the weaving craft, the physical bending of the willow branches, and the creative intent behind this work. It is both a physical and a visual experience, as in this cultural technique, the process remains ever-present, visible, and understandable. This also holds significance for sustainable spatial design in architecture, as well as for art, which always engages with general design questions. One of these questions is: How do we get closer to that physical space and how can we shape it? What does that mean for us?