Helen Mirra
Field Recordings, 7 x 5000 Schritte, in Berlin (Steglitz) 31 Juli
Detail / detail
Öl auf Leinwand / Oil on linen, 2010
80 x 170 cm
Courtesy of the artist

An exhibition currently taking place in Berlin is “gehend: Field Recordings 1-3” which is taking place at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art. Helen Mirra made these prints and rubbings on hikes around Berlin, Bonn and Zurich. She explains her philosophy on her website:

“After a number of years making discrete works in various materials, and considering various subjects, Mirra’s present rhythm of working takes the form of a kind of paced printmaking, made through walking. The activities are interdependent; the walking structures the printing, and the printing impels the walking. This rhythm is nestled into a cycle of exhibitions that perpetuates the project.”

For this exhibition she spent a month in each of the three locations, and spent almost every day walking. Every hour she would make a print of the ground before transferring this onto linen, collecting seven such prints a day. The aim of her work, according to the notes that accompany the exhibition, is to “resist idealised notions of nature” as well as to “open up spaces of association, in which the perception of small things is enlivened, and our ethical sense of responsibility regarding our environment and its diversity is addressed.”

Exhibition runs until the 29^th January – Homepage