"The […] Element", 2019
“The […] Element” is a permanent public work in the Wildbad Rothenburg Park in Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber, Germany. It was loosely inspired by the park’s historical fame as a spa, and the subsequent drying out of its springs.
Housed within a small cave, the work comprises a quadriphonic sound piece and a readymade object - a hundred-year-old hand water pump donated by the local community, following an invitation from the artist. This is the only visual element and it acts as an object that indicates something constant amid the fluxes and changes of time. The soundtrack features a German and English poem written and narrated by Nora Gomringer which was especially created for this project, as well as field and studio recordings.
The work dialogues with the history of the location, the external landscape and the surroundings, but also weaves relationships with an ‘inner landscape’, where nature, memory, place, poetry and fiction intertwine and respond to one another. The theme of water as an essential element and ghost phenomenon permeates the entire work, while a new presence is evoked through the intimacy of voice, sound and scenery.
The piece was commissioned by the Art Residency Wildbad program, which invites artists to create site-specific works for the park.
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Readymade iron object, gravel, sound equipment. Duration: 9'36". Poem and spoken word: Nora Gomringer. Sound recording and editing: Laura Belém, Rüdiger Sturm and Pyromusic. Art Residency Wildbad, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. Curated by Helmut Braun.
