J O A N N A G A R M O N
In the framework of the participatory exhibition Adler für Alle in the Kommunale Galerie Adlershof, I invited the public to join me in a series of workshops to develop a piece together to explore the collectivity of family history and our means of transforming generational narratives. Grounded in a large component of my artistic practice, I asked participants to reflect on their family's legacy and intuitively translate their thoughts into writing, drawing, painting, and collage – to ultimately create a communal patchwork, weaving our narratives together and leaving those we no longer need to carry behind.
We began with a stream-of-consciousness writing exercise based on a series of prompts: reflecting on where we are from, and what expectations or patterns have been passed down generationally. Next, we manipulated and abstracted the text passages to gain distance from our narratives, via artistic experimentation with varied materials. By manipulating and collaging written text passages, obstructing legibility, playing with materials, and exploring new outcomes, we build new relationships with ourselves and our stories. I encouraged participants to develop new written and visual language on paper to free themselves from identified patterns and expectations and gain a new perspective on the present. This was paralleled by succumbing to our process and subverting the desire, expectation, or need for product-oriented outcomes.
At the start of the exhibition, the result of my process was displayed – a patchwork of my drawings which emerged from personal free writing. Over the next six weeks and four workshops, participants created fifteen drawings using this approach. I interwove the stories and thoughts of twelve people with different backgrounds into a new paper quilt, contextualizing commonalities and differences in a handcraft that is often passed down generationally.
Many thanks and gratitude to all participants for their engagement and trust: Mirthe, Renate, Bärbel, Jana, Timo, Lucy, Frank, Matt, Jamie, Nadja and Logan.
