Yolandé Gouws explores a fleeting encounter between human and forest in her exhibition Being-seen-being, which features striking sculptures created from rescued branches and peace silk threads. On Thursday December 4, from 6pm until 10pm, Being-seen-being will open with a Press Preview at Awen, Strausberger Platz 19. The exhibition opens to the public the following day, Friday, December 5, at 6pm until 11pm.
Being-seen-being describes a moment of reciprocal encounter in nature. For Gouws, both human and forest exist in the same condition: being present while being witnessed. You see the forest at one instant in its evolution, while the forest, through the bound branches, sees you at one instant in yours.
The works hold fragments from the chestnut woods of Tailhos, France, that reveal the particular geometry of branches and twigs at the moment of capture. Cherry branches, which grow in quiet coexistence with the chestnuts, are held within chestnut-wood frames and bound in place with silk threads. In the works by Gouws, the forest holds agency, it participates by holding its own qualities and presence in relation to the viewer.
Gouws is known for her meditative and calming art; the core of her practice is the expression of peace. All materials are responsibly sourced, such as the Ahisma, or peace silk: the moths are allowed to escape from the cocoons, meaning that the process of creating the fabric is cruelty-free.
Dates
Press Preview: Thursday, 4 December 6pm - 10pm
RSVP here for the Press Preview.
Public Opening: Friday, 5 December 6pm - 11pm
Until February 13, by appointment.
Press Preview: Thursday, 4 December 6pm - 10pm
RSVP here for the Press Preview.
Public Opening: Friday, 5 December 6pm - 11pm
Until February 13, by appointment.
Location
Awen, Strausberger Platz 19, 10243 Berlin
Awen, Strausberger Platz 19, 10243 Berlin
For interview requests, contact claire@quinto.com.
Yolandé Gouws
About Yolandé
Yolandé Gouws is a South African artist and curator living and working in Berlin.
Her poetic works reference weaving and architecture, reminding us of the origins of culture in craft and community. She believes in the interconnectedness of all things, from single threads to the multiverse.
Yolandé Gouws has a Masters degree in architecture and qualified under Sam Chermayeff and Johanna Meyer Grohbrügge. She went on to work as an exhibitions designer, curator and producer for Olafur Eliasson, Alicja Kwade, and Fotografiska Berlin.
In 2018 she spent two months at an art residency in a remote village in Japan. This experience affected her deeply and moved her to pursue her own art practice.
With French Hugenot origins, she feels deeply inspired to continue the craft of weaving of her ancestors.
Her poetic works reference weaving and architecture, reminding us of the origins of culture in craft and community. She believes in the interconnectedness of all things, from single threads to the multiverse.
Yolandé Gouws has a Masters degree in architecture and qualified under Sam Chermayeff and Johanna Meyer Grohbrügge. She went on to work as an exhibitions designer, curator and producer for Olafur Eliasson, Alicja Kwade, and Fotografiska Berlin.
In 2018 she spent two months at an art residency in a remote village in Japan. This experience affected her deeply and moved her to pursue her own art practice.
With French Hugenot origins, she feels deeply inspired to continue the craft of weaving of her ancestors.