Nest
How do we define home, the physical architecture and the phycological experience? Why do we
crave the need for home or a place we define as home? Sharing a location with other species inparticular
birds, something most of us do daily, though we take little notice of it, questions the
concept of home and its meaning especially within species who migrate. For a bird a nest is a
temporary home for one purpose, to raise their young. They will spend intricate hours building the
nest and then simply leave it, this suggests a nomadic existence perhaps similar to how our hunter
gather ancestors may have lived. In a society where we spend most of our lives in one location do
we still feel the innate need to move and travel like many other species do? A sleeping bag is
surely the modern day representation of a nomadic lifestyle. This work therefore aims to combine
the building nature of birds with the contemporary human form, creating a sleeping bag that
becomes a nest constructed from the environment around us. In addition to this the sleeping bag
has the potential to continue a life of its own, it can grow and provide a home for other species
such as insects or worms.
The unique environment of Kuba: kulturbahnhof allowed us to reflect on our own experiences and
relationship to the location, as a result of this we developed strong themes and concepts that are
now central to our work. We arrived at Kuba after months of travelling with an uncertain destination
ahead of us once the residency was over, therefore, Kuba provided us with a chance to settle for a
short while and create a feeling of home together. While at Kuba, aside from art, we were slowly
planning where we might live in the future and it is now clear that this was subconsciously
dominating our thoughts. Fulled by the constant connection to movement by thundering trains in
contrast to the slower pace of the landscape around us the concept of home became an important
aspect of our practice at Kuba. We explored our different backgrounds and our psychological
desire for a home and how we might define the feeling of home for ourselves and what it might
mean to other species such as the birds that we shared Kuba with. Working in natural materials
such as birch wood, soil and moss we explored the materiality of the site, we discovered
connections within ourselves, history and the environment that could portray our research and
concepts. Through this way of working we further enhanced our desire to make work that can be
returned to nature or become a part of it.
Kuba allowed us to reflect personally on our experience with the location and make work that both
represented ourselves but also the environment around us, this was a new direction for us, as
previously we had not made work that focused heavily on our relationship and individual cultures.
The location of Kuba provided us with the freedom to experiment in a range of natural materials
and spaces while also being connected enough to acquire particular art or industrial materials if we
desired, providing a variety of options when experimenting with ideas. Furthermore, Kuba allowed
us to publicly exhibit our work and to consider spaces away from the typically gallery space, and
how this can enhance concepts within the work.
Shelf (53°14'09.4"N 11°39’49.1"E)
Made from birch wood cut and halved by hand. Birch wood represents time within the past, present
and future. Birch trees are known as a colonising species that will grow in rough weak soil and will
oxygenate the soil to allow other species to grow, therefore, birch often grows in urban wastelands
and railway sidings. They were once one of the first tree’s to colonise Europe after the last ice age
and create forest and they would likely be the first trees to grow in the remains of a city in the
future post-human age. The process and refining of the wood creates a personal relationship to the
object. Contemplating the concept of a home, the two sides become shelves that represent
ourselves through the trace of objects that may once have adorned the space evoking a past
relationship which captures the meaning of birch, the location and ourselves.
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