Last weekend I co-hosted “we rearrange” together with my colleague Franziska Boehm (link that opens in a new tap). We shared our practices in a series of so called performative encounters: participatory short workhops.
Concept
We invited small groups to test our methods and dive into our creative practices. The participants worked with each of us for 15 minutes and then swapped places. We also invited them to reflect on what they experienced in the end.
Composing shapes and space
I shared my creative working methods around observing compositons of shapes and the sens of space, distance and proximity, density and pathways that they might show.
shapes on top, and cut out larger shapes in the background
pinned on a cork wall. All shapes have different colours.
I tested with the participants how sensing our breath and volume of the body might change how we perceive these compositions, and if rearranging them could express some of our sensorial experience. We worked on a table and on a wall.
knees bend, hands on belly, eyes closed.
and cut out shapes on top. They are coloured in pale pink,
pale yellow, brown and pale blue as well as white. Some look
aligned, some placed randomly in piles on top of each other.
Next steps and reflection
I was not yet able to implement creating shapes out of different materials that could be rather felt than seen. By using fabrics I would like to explore how a purely haptic composition might work out.
I am reflecting on how the experiences might contribute to future participatory formats, and how they influence my pieces. You can see one of them and more documentation photos below.
shot of hands rearranging shapes
on the table.
person rearranging shapes on a cork wall.
