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NaturArchy Residencies: Compos[t]ing @ JRC Ispra

Artists Ingrid Ogenstedt and Ingrid Mayrhofer-Hufnagl, together with researcher Jonah Lynch, will be in residence at JRC from 06/02 to 10/02 as part of the programme of residencies in the framework of NaturArchy.

They will be conducting research for their project, Compos[t]ing, which will investigate new ways of thinking by using knowledge that is already existing, but that can be put into a new context. This proposal involves an exploration of building materials, with an emphasis on local, indigenous, and undervalued knowledge, and re-usability and adjustability as elements of adapting to our changing conditions.

Concept image for Composting - AI generated protype for giant sculpture in crescent form, with people around
Image credits: I. Mayrhofer-Hufnagl, I. Ogenstedt

More about the project

We consider materials as living matter (with nature as co-creator) that transform and change their shape over time, and eventually turn into an input for renewal and compose new natural matter. The large-scale artwork combines various crafting knowledge and materials with a wide range of aesthetic, mechanical, and physical characteristics as well as environmental responsiveness. The sculpture functions as a composition of knowledge (human and non-human) that leads us forward and backward at the same time. The project is an attempt to challenge some of the assumptions underlying the contemporary production of our habitations from a material and social/cultural perspective and to  rethink the construction industry in the belief that there are better alternatives.

Background

Ingrid Ogenstedt is a Swedish born artist who works both with large sculptural projects and drawing (Instagram: @ingridogensted). Ingrid Mayrhofer-Hufnagl is an experimental architect, researcher, and educator from Austria. Jonah Lynch is a researcher in the fields of digital humanities, physics, philosophy and theology. ERC researcher Jaime Gomez-Ramirez is also helping to develop the scientific side of the project. The group first met and connected at the SciArt Summer School on the topic of NaturArchy which took place in June 2022 at the JRC.

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