Public Hybrid

This group of sculptures on the Emscher-Kunstweg is assembled from two very different materials in contrasting colours and structures: Large block of sandstone lie on coloured plastic elements produced by a 3D printer. The sandstone comes from the nearby city of Sprockhövel. It formed about 320 million years ago and is one of the most resilient types of sandstone found in Germany. The stones were left in the shape, colour and structure in which they were taken from the quarry. The plastic for the 3D prints, on the other hand, had to be processed first, its shapes had to be programmed to turn the waste material into a useable resource whose layered structure is adapted to the shapes of the stones, resulting in an equally artificial and natural scenery. With this multipart sculpture, the artist, who grew up in Bochum, addresses the history and future not just of this place but of the entire Ruhr area. The landscape here has been constantly reshaped by human interventions. The most recent phase, whose aim is often renaturation, has created an artificially natural landscape. “Public Hybrid” is thus a contemporary monument that resembles a natural landmark and can be read as a reference to the ecological restoration of the Emscher river system.
www.emscherkunstweg.de