The candles have been lit, the incense has been burnt; now my work vibrates inside of Berlin art gallery CIRCLE1 until December 23rd. Thanks to Avi Pitchon, who invited me to take part in this group exhibition, alongside renown international artists from Israel and Palestine!

What started as a simple idea years ago, has accumulated into a complex installation. Succeeding years of studying the plants first-hand and a rediscovered love for ink, suddenly things fell into place. It was preceded by searching and researching, sowing and growing, loss and gain via the very basic and earth-bound occupation as a gardener and harvester.

The installation is hence titled “Harvest“. It consists of an earth altar with dried plants and harvest related offerings: self baked bread, honey from the neighborhood and self-made beeswax candles. The souls and spirits that were contained in the once alive, now dead corpora of the plants, find a new house in the form of fetishistic ink drawings: the “Sigilla Magica” series.

With these new forms I found an own language, in which I seek to both entertain and communicate memes to the viewer. Twelve ink drawings reference eleven magical plants. A twelfth refers to the bee queen, “Regina Bombina“, governing the vital interaction between plants and pollinators. In addition, two anthropomorphic drawings depict the aconite and mandragora in half-human form, namely the armed and poison-dart struck “Wolf Shaman” and beheaded and re-headed “Regina Amandrakina” accompanied by her freakish offspring. Finally, two complimenting botanical studies of the roots of the aconite and mandragora act as a bridge between abstraction and realism and explore the individual and fascinating shape of each in detail.

Scroll down for impressions from the vernissage.

 

Video of the harvest installation – for each plant there is one ink drawing imbued with the corresponding plant tincture. What started out as a vague idea of creating individual artwork for a list of magical plants has years later finally taken shape. The works are part of “Bad Intentions” exhibition at @circle1gallery and can be viewed Thursday-Saturday, from 12:00 – 18:00, until Dec 23. #circle1 #berlin #gallery #exhibition #exhibitionopening #vernissage #installationart #harvest #magicalplants #plantamagica #witchplants #witchherbs #magicherbs #altar #ritual #ritualart #conceptart #inkdrawings #originalart #occultart #sigillamagica

A post shared by Wiebke Rost (@wiebkerost) on Nov 22, 2017 at 9:52am PST

 

Impressions from the exhibition opening at @circle1gallery Curator Avi Pitchon with the “Harvest” installation. It has been a huge honor for me to be able to show my work alongside such strong artists and especially within such a special cultural context. It means very much to me and I hope this is the beginning of something new… The exhibition runs until December 23. Go and check it out! #exhibitionopening #vernissage #gallery #circle1 #badintentions #art #sigillamagica #harvestinstallation #berlinart #artandculture

A post shared by Wiebke Rost (@wiebkerost) on Nov 21, 2017 at 4:10pm PST

 

More impressions from the exhibition opening at @circle1gallery – punk legend, writer and curator Avi Pitchon plays the protagonist in Keren Cytter’s short film “The Dates Series” (2004). #circle1 #badintentions #avipitchon #thedatesseries #shortfilm #kerencytter

A post shared by Wiebke Rost (@wiebkerost) on Nov 22, 2017 at 5:26pm PST

 

More impressions from the exhibition opening at @circle1gallery – the topic and objects gave food for thought. On the wall oposit my harvest altar you see the suicide hitler and the incredibly realistic miniature of a levitating suicide bomber by Osama Zatar. #circle1 #gallery #badintentions #exhibitionopening #vernissage #osamazatar #inthenameofgod #suicidehitler #meravkamel #halilbalabin #art #berlin

A post shared by Wiebke Rost (@wiebkerost) on Nov 22, 2017 at 6:20pm PST

 

Not so serious, the “Hourglass” by Merav Kamel and Halil Balabin #circle1 #exhibitionopening #berlingallery #badintentions #thehourglass #poppet #meravkamel #halilbalabin

A post shared by Wiebke Rost (@wiebkerost) on Nov 22, 2017 at 6:30pm PST

Thanks to all involved!

17.11.-23.12.2017 – Bad Intentions,
a group exhibition curated by Avi Pitchon and Alona Harpaz

Opening times:
Thursday – Saturday
12:00-18:00

CIRCLE1
Mittenwalder Stra­ße 47
10961 Berlin

November 25, 2017

Posted In: Art, Events

Tags: magical plants, avi pitchon, plant mythology, israeli artists, wolf shaman, palestinian artists, exhibitions, regina bombina, poisonous plants, exhibition opening, experimental art, sigilla magica plantarum, gallery, conceptual art, harvest, circle 1, plant art, berlin, regina amandrakina, vernissage, planta magica, installation, art, ink drawings

Leave a Comment