All Hands On: Flechten

2022

Artwork: Berlin in a Basket

Textile Sculpture, 120 m x 120 m

Berlin

This artwork consists of an infographic work of the city of Berlin in the year 2019 and proposes a global vision of the city of Berlin by means of an infographical analysis of its inhabitants by ethnicity. For this purpose, fabrics from different communities were collected and woven into a graphic representation of the city’s population based on information from the Brandenburg Statistics Office.

This artwork is inspired by the eponymous essay by Tim Ingold, in which the British anthropologist argues that the rhythm of time in space can be represented in the shape of a basket. To illustrate this idea, he considers the concept of autopoiesis, that is, the self-reproduction of living systems in direct relationship with their environment. Seen from this perspective, the basket as a model of representation refers to something that is constantly growing.

The construction of a large-scale basket internalises the temporal rhythm of its creation. It is realised gradually through the intertwining of fabrics that have altered their structural properties so as to be turned into this new form. The basket emulates an endless spiral and represents the functioning of society.