Orientation as Gardening
Part 1 - Tokyo
Installation in the context of the festival Trolls in the Park
3 November – 23 November 2016, Zenpukuji Park and Youkobo Art Space, Tokyo

Orientation allows us a notion of the world around us. “Orientation as Gardening” investigates orientation as an activity, a transition, an experience and not as a given. An active composing (gardening) of being-in-the-world.

Visitor Information Tokyo

A series of arrangements have been developed: Eight Assemblage Boards and eight pieces of text will be installed in Zenpukuji Park and in the gallery of Youkobo Art Space. Based upon classic Shohin displays – small scale indoor shelves for plants and stones – the boards have been enlarged to human scale and transfered into public space. Frame and furniture in one, they have been adapted to the specific conditions of their respective environments in the park. These eight sites compose an array of perspectives and represent at the same time an infinite number of possible further options. In addition, eight texts have been developed: From eight different books, one essential word has been filtered and subsequently a poem developed out of it.

From November 3rd through November 10th at 8 am, the team will start its passage from the gallery to the park, carrying the components for one board. At its designated spot, the group will take a moment to prepare for the work of that day; then the board will be set up. For eight days, Almut Rink and Carola Platzek will be present and working at the respective board. At the end of the day, it will be given a name. As the park closes, title and board return to the gallery. From the second through the eighth day, one of the texts will wander from the gallery into the park and mark the void, created by the board of the previous day. Only one board at a time will be present in the park. All the parts that are not in use outside, will be stored and displayed in Youkobo Art Space. They are exhibition, archive, and storage at once.

The eight days of Carola Platzek and Almut Rink’s presence in the park are followed by eight days of absence, in which both artists continue their research outside of the park. During this time, November 11th through 18th, the eighth board will remain at its location, containing a drawer with photographs that recollect the physical presence of the boards in the park. November 19th, both artists will return to the park for one final day at the board. Like its predecessors, it will be given a name and return to the gallery in the evening. The next day, a text will be placed in the void of the eighth board and thus complete the series of texts in the park; a photograph of the eighth board will be placed in the drawer.

From November 20th through 22nd, a series of talks will take place at the site of the last board. Together with local experts, Almut Rink and Carola Platzek will reflect the past experience from different viewpoints.



November 3rd 2016 - Day 1 - Board 1
November 4th 2016 - Day 2 - Board 2
November 5th 2016 - Day 3 - Board 3
November 6th 2016 - Day 4 - Board 4
November 7th 2016 - Day 5 - Board 5
November 8th 2016 - Day 6 - Board 6
November 9th 2016 - Day 7 - Board 7
November 10th - 19th 2016 - Day 8 - Board 8


Adresses:
Zenpukuji Park
Zenpukuji 3-9-10, Suginamiku, Tokyo 167-0041 Japan
Hours: 9am – 5pm

Youkobo Art Space
Zenpukuji 3-2-10, Suginamiku, Tokyo 167-0041 Japan
Hours: Wednesday- Sunday 12 – 7 pm
and open on 11/7 - 8


Support: Youkobo Art Space, Trolls in the Park 2016, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, Austrian Cultural Forum Tokyo – Embassy of the Republic of Austria in Japan