Gefüge is an ecosophical examination of the cognitive and communicative
structures of plants. Following Anna Atkins (English
botanist and photographer, 1799 - 1871), Kessler focuses on an
artistic field study of the root connections of trees and smaller
plants. The photograms, taken on location, show a detailed
image of the underground ramifications. Due to their almost
graphic reduction, it is nevertheless hard to tell if is it a root
network, the discharge of electrical particles, a nerve thread
or a vascular system? The large-format fabric panels allow us
to get very close to the motifs and concurrently make us aware
that any analysis of living systems requires a separation of
individual parts that can never do justice to the totality of the
complex.
From the Series Earthly Matters:
At the height of global capitalism, we continue to consume, produce and live in a world that cannot regenerate at nearly the same speed. The body of work Earthly Matters defines our scope of action within this scenario as a space for imagination. Simone Kessler‘s current works from installations and sculptures to film, photographs and drawings. Each work is dedicated, in its way, to central questions: Which problems do we have to face today? Which other images of tomorrow are already possible? How can we think them together? To use the last words of a science fiction trilogy by Octavia E. Butler: How can we sow them into fertile soil?
Earthly Matters is a body of work since 2019