Auftakt, nGbK Berlin 2016

Instead of herbs, we see printed satin ribbons protruding from terracotta pots. The text fragments on the ribbons combine collective ascriptions, messages of solidarity, and neoliberal promises; and allow subjective fragments of memory to blossom.

The narrative tone changes from one ribbon to the next – it is plural. Originally intended to house herbs with them emerging from the vessel’s many openings, a house too may have balconies or doors for local people, voices and perspectives: this vessel is a ‘plural vessel’ too. The plural vessels are filled with semi-transparent sculptures of hands – they are like seedlings that point to interpersonal moments of contact. A pair of headphones hangs from one opening, from which the audio collage Inter Inter Neighbour Orbit quietly emanates. The plural vessels are carriers of narratives and are activated in different contexts.

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Inter Inter Nachbarorbit / performative gesture / video stills / Auftakt, nGbK Berlin, 2016

In one situation they were employed as ballot boxes. Members of the nGbK Berlin art association cast their votes through the apertures of the plural vessels, voting for the institution’s annual programme in a grassroots democratic process. For the commencement of the 2016 meeting, ‘Miss Inter Neighbour Orbit’ inaugurated the ballot boxes in a performative gesture with an array of glitter balls, inflatable planets, plant substrate and bubbles. She wore a silk sash printed with the words ‘Miss Inter Neighbour Orbit’. Who exactly she is and who anointed her as a Miss remains unclear, but the election was certainly inaugurated!

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