String Theory String Practice p2p

What is weaving? We often think of it as making objects — as a technique to produce commercial goods, like the clothes we all wear. Yet, in many cultures, weaving is not only a way to produce external objects, but also a deeply internal process, connected to spiritual practices. The cultural codes behind weaving are often linked to magic, myth and ritual — they differ across cultures, yet recurring and persistent motifs appear over and over again. With the rise of capitalism and colonialism, weaving was mostly turned into a physical labour — which was often, under colonial conditions, alienated and forced. What used to be part of spiritual practices and an activity that merged many worlds and perspectives together, became a source of production and profit.

Many cultural, mythical and spiritual connotations of weaving were marginalized in this process of reducing it to a mere material action. But the memory did not disappear completely: parts of it remain hidden and scattered across different fields of knowledge in the form of images, metaphors or stories, seemingly unconnected to each other.

This exhibition seeks to bring together these associations and connections, and explore similarities and differences between them.

As a starting point, the artists were asked: what does the metaphor of weaving mean within your medium and practice? This exhibition invites you to explore weaving as a way of thinking — and to engage with the threads stitching different contexts, fields and worldviews together.

Artists: Vladimir Seleznev, Leila Mousavi, Isabel Jimenez Alegría, Jaron Kühmstedt, Fia Sabelfeld, Wiebke Bröse, Charlotte Perka, Kaja Meyer

This exhibition is curated and organized by Litha Sabelfeld as part of the Kunstraum.p2p format. Collaborators of the exhibition are Kollektiv HäkelHektar, Ruth Stamm, and Sarah Kreiseler