#Rhythm

[2022]

Various materials, various sizes

BYPASS – The Emergence of Voices/ Part 3: Heart

Collaboration between Jenny Brockmann (visual arts), Prof. Dr. Anke Neuber (sociologist), Filip Caranica (fine artist, composer), Józef Gałązka (artist, sculptor), Justyna Domasłowska – Szulc/Beata Matusiak-Bulak (Dom Kultury Foundation, Association for Art in Prisons, Warsaw), Thomas Düring (Volkssternwarte Mittelhessen e.V.), Ilham Samudra/Rempah Embassy/Elgea Nur Balzarie (Jatiwangi art Factory), Jens Retting-Frendeborg (Soziale Hilfe e. V.), Pauline Stöhr

The discursive performative installation #RHYTHM, which took place during documenta fifteen in parallel on Friedrichsplatz Kassel, in the ruruHaus, and in the Kassel I prison, was the third iteration of ‘Bypass – The Emergence of Voices’ and referred to the allegory of the heart, a hollow muscular organ that pumps blood or hemoglobin through the body with contractions, ensuring the supply of all organs.. The heart sets the beat of life or punctum saliens, the first sign of life and the criterion for distinguishing between living and non-living beings. A special kind of clay (Indonesian: tanah) played a central role in connecting the interior of the ruruHaus with the detention center. The clay, which had previously been molded by the inmates of the JVA Kassel I women’s prison, was transformed into sounds and could thus establish a connection to rhythm and time.Together with discursive objects and cartographies, Brockmann‘s situated discussions invited patients and staff, casual audiences and invited speakers, extending the artistic process beyond institutional contexts.

Unfolding via three curated events, or Entanglements, at documenta fifteen, Kassel, “#RHYTHM” looked into the properties of the heart from a literal and metaphorical point of view, considering processes of regeneration and metabolism in relation to the analog world and digital technologies. Critical to each event, or Entanglements, is the sculptural installation “Seat#12”. Mounted on a single central axis, “Seat#12” is a kinetic sculpture developing from a wood base into 12 aluminium branches, which are 12 seats for people facing each other. Displayed together with discursive objects and cartographies, Brockmann’s situated discussions welcome inmates of the Kassel prison and staff members, casual audiences, and invited speakers, expanding the artistic process beyond institutional contexts.

As part of the programme,Entanglement #1: Pause was about pausing, about the interruption of a continuity, about a change from action to inaction. What effects does this have on humans or on other forms of existence that surround humans? Beata Matusiak-Bulak from Dom Kultury Foundation presented the work of the Warsaw-based Association for Art in Prisons Dom Kultury, in which prisoners who have to “take a break” can become creatively active. Expert on light pollution Thomas Düring spoke about the effects of artificial light on biological organisms. A member of Jatiwangi art Factory, Rempah Embassy, offered a public spice ceremony in tanah (clay) vessels, and pausing became a healing experience through perception with the different senses. Entanglement #2: Pitch-Nada was about pitch, which in music determines how sound is heard, and the intensity with which the recipient receives the sound. It was also about articulation and giving voice to one’s own needs or the needs of the unheard. Elgea Nur Balzarie, daughter of a founding member of Jatiwangi art Factory, spoke about what it means to grow up and live in such a community; social worker at Soziale Hilfe e.V. Jens Retting-Frendeborg spoke about articulation and assistance, and dancer Pauline Stöhr expressed and interpreted pitch in performative practice. Entanglement #3: Rhythm was about rhythm. Media scholar Benjamin Prinz shared his research on the historic Gibbon heart-lung machine and how it attempts to outsmart, adapt, and resonate with the rhythm of the body. The musical group LAIR and members of the Jatiwangi art Factory collective talked about rhythm in the making of instruments from tanah (clay) and talked about and practiced rhythm in their music.

In collaboration with: Kasseler Kunstverein and documenta fifteen, Kassel
Funded by Kunstfonds Foundation and Berlin Senat.

“#Rhythm” is part of the nomadic project “BYPASS – The Emergence of Voices” curated by Linda Rocco, realized in collaboration with Goethe-Institut and taking place throughout 2021-26 across six different locations in Europe. Existing at the intersection of art, science and research, “BYPASS – The Emergence of Voices” reflects on notions of connectivity from multifaceted perspectives, acting as a catalyst in exploring discourses on transdisciplinarity and collaborative approaches. Within the project the body acts as a metaphor to divide the six interlinked projects into six organs of interest: the skin, the brain, liver, the heart, the lungs, arm and the hand.

Part 1/ Skin: “Jenny Brockmann: #LIMITS”
Part 2/ Liver: “Jenny Brockmann: #ENERGY/STATE/REACTION”
Part 3/ Heart: “Jenny Brockmann: #RHYTHM”
Part 4/ Brain: “Jenny Brockmann: #THOUGHTS”
Part 5/ Lungs: “Jenny Brockmann: #BREATH”
Part 6/ Hand: “Jenny Brockmann: #TOUCH”