Landschaftsprobe w/ Christoph Helfrich

In the summer of 2017 a study excursion led to the Ruhr area in western Germany, which used to be one of the largest industrial regions in Europe. It supplied Germany with industrial goods and resources such as lignite, coal and steel products. Today most of the fabrics, mills and mines are closed down and the region has to deal with its post-industrial heritage.

As part of a study excursion and to get in touch with the very unique post-industrial landscape of the Ruhr region, the analysis tool Landschaftsprobe was developed. It was taken at selected locations according to a fixed procedure: A team of two explorers, equipped with overalls and instrument cases, investigated the site and searched for a characteristic surface of the landscape. Using a spatula, they scraped the surface within a diamond shaped plate and filled the extracted material into a test tube. Finally, they photographically documented the sampling site. The purpose of the tool is multi-faceted: making contact, extracting material, leaving an ephemeral trace and generating memory. The individual approach to the landscape is provoked by synaesthetic experience.

For the subsequent exhibition, the taken material samples and corresponding photographs were presented as landscape portraits: golden-yellow sand from Germany‘s largest open-cast lignite mine, charred overburden material from a formerly burning slag heap, or rust-red iron splinters from disused steel works. The samples can be regarded as essences of the places explored. They are artifacts of a journey into foreign landscapes. Together with the picture panels, they not only document what was experienced on site, but also tell the story of an expedition.

Installation 2017, Technical University Munich
Collaboration: Christoph Helfrich
Context: Study excursion to the Ruhr area, Germany
Chair: Chair of Landscape Architecture and Postindustrial Landscapes (Prof. Udo Weilacher)

Landschaftsprobe w/ Christoph Helfrich

In the summer of 2017 a study excursion led to the Ruhr area in western Germany, which used to be one of the largest industrial regions in Europe. It supplied Germany with industrial goods and resources such as lignite, coal and steel products. Today most of the fabrics, mills and mines are closed down and the region has to deal with its post-industrial heritage.

As part of a study excursion and to get in touch with the very unique post-industrial landscape of the Ruhr region, the analysis tool Landschaftsprobe was developed. It was taken at selected locations according to a fixed procedure: A team of two explorers, equipped with overalls and instrument cases, investigated the site and searched for a characteristic surface of the landscape. Using a spatula, they scraped the surface within a diamond shaped plate and filled the extracted material into a test tube. Finally, they photographically documented the sampling site. The purpose of the tool is multi-faceted: making contact, extracting material, leaving an ephemeral trace and generating memory. The individual approach to the landscape is provoked by synaesthetic experience.

For the subsequent exhibition, the taken material samples and corresponding photographs were presented as landscape portraits: golden-yellow sand from Germany‘s largest open-cast lignite mine, charred overburden material from a formerly burning slag heap, or rust-red iron splinters from disused steel works. The samples can be regarded as essences of the places explored. They are artifacts of a journey into foreign landscapes. Together with the picture panels, they not only document what was experienced on site, but also tell the story of an expedition.

Installation 2017, Technical University Munich
Collaboration: Christoph Helfrich
Context: Study excursion to the Ruhr area, Germany
Chair: Chair of Landscape Architecture and Postindustrial Landscapes (Prof. Udo Weilacher)