The
Art
of
Emergency

Mari Lena Rapprich & Florian Witt


Mari Lena Rapprich

Mari Lena Rapprich is an artist, curator and researcher, lives in Bremen and works between systematic drawings and experimental soundscapes. Starting points are often systems of writing and order, to which the hand has to be subordinate. Existing systems serve as instructions for drawing and/or auditory processes in which repetition, rhythmic movements, failure as a productive moment and temporality are created. In 2020 Mari Lena published the artist book «Repeat» with the accompanying tape «24:06». Currently Mari Lena is artistically and scientifically researching on the analogy of drawing and weaving as well as on sound in film.

Florian Witt

Florian Witt is an artist, lives in Bremen and works with drawing and painting on/with paper, canvas, wooden constructions and sculptures. The graphic translations of human artifacts, infrastructure and architectural constructions often only exist as fragmentary forms and are deconstructed and reassembled both in their appropriation and through the material itself, which is composed of multiple layers of paint, amateurish woodcuts and humorous ambiguities. Florian also publishes artist books such as «wtwp - do we die is why we do», 2020 and «call of voice - travel drawings», 2023.

Tower Place

Mari Lena Rapprich and Florian Witt will prove different (drawing) approaches and examine thestability and instability of systems based on the game Jenga. 'Tower Place' is intended as an open-ended,artistic experiment that can be found in building blocks, drawings, texts and publications.

Starting point is the game Jenga – Jenga is Swahili and means construction.

In presumed parallelism to social systems, Jenga is also about thoughts of constant further development, imminent collapse and an everlasting longing for stability. Here, however, the state of emergency is normal, even a fixed and desired part of the gameplay. Direct and indirect translations lend themselves to finding and/or developing action premises and perspectives for the real world. No construction without intention.

Reverse engineering a game to approach necessary societal issues. To get a view, the tower has to be tall. Building blocks are limited, the better the view, the more unstable the base. The collapse is part of it, as is the reconstruction.

Is this really a crisis?

SATURDAY, January 27th - 5 pm
Presentation

Mari Lena Rapprich and Florian Witt invite you to a presentation tomorrow on the occasion of their residency Tower Place, Saturday, January 27, starting at 5 pm in the thealit Arbeitszimmer, St.-Jürgen-Straße 157/159 in Bremen. 

The starting point for Tower Place is a parlor game and a game of physical skill too, Jenga, which is revisited and explored. What can be understood through the elements of foundation, statics, construction and intention? 

Come play  and think with us!