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Art Explains Science: A special exhibition entitled “saujana Membumi” opens at the Knowledge Forum in Göttingen
Göttingen. “It’s harvest time,” says Alexander Knoll, professor of bioclimatology at the University of Göttingen, touching on the significance of Saturday’s upcoming event. Amidst canvases, palm oil products and art, Knohl discusses the new museum’s first major special exhibition this weekend at the Knowledge Forum. Because “saujana Membumi” (German: “as far as the eye can see – rooted in the ground”) is about palm plantations, but also about cooperation and collaboration, about the interaction of science and art.
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“This exhibition is our first big experience,” says Marie-Louise Almayer, who, as Head of Central Watch, helped create the Knowledge Forum. Indeed: the way research by the Center for Collaborative Research EFForTS (English acronym for: Environmental, Social and Economic Functions of Low Tropical Rainforest Transformation Systems) is combined with the art of Indonesian collective Rumah Budaya Sikukeluang in the rooms of the private exhibition is experimental and always challenging for the visitor. . Coordination with Studio The Green Eyl.
“Recycling” in the farmer’s village
On the other hand, the exhibition shows what researchers have discovered about Knohl during ten years of work at the Collaborative Research Center on Biodiversity, but also about the socio-economic factor of palm plantations in Indonesia: How does plantation construction affect plants, animals and people? How can biodiversity, economy and more be combined?
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On the other hand, the artists surrounding Adhari Donora show through their works how life goes on and around farms, what challenges the inhabitants face, and the struggles that monocultural cultures provoke between the beneficiaries and the primitive peoples. If you search carefully for the similarities between science and art, you will find a lot of them. Or don’t these artworks look like harvesting tools used by researchers? Doesn’t this feathered shape take the same visitor perspective as the scientists’ drone on farms?
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Donora and his fellow art group have been in touch with Knoll and his team for years. Knoll asserts that without such an exchange, science will not work: “We wouldn’t be able to do much of what we do in Indonesia without our connections there.”
The art group addressed researchers’ issues in its own unique way: they hosted a festival in a village in Indonesia. People talked with residents about their problems and way of life. And the objects that are now art were collected in Göttingen. Donora calls it “recycling” and one of his fellow artists “rebuilds”.
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The special exhibition opens on Saturday
Like the Knowledge Forum in its entirety, his first private exhibition aims to bridge the gap between science, society, and the people of Göttingen. For “saujana Membumi,” they’ll try an outdoor area facing the street, explains Michael Forrest of Central Guardian. In this ‘participatory moment’ one wants to encourage people to visit and bring science to them in an unusual way. Knohl is pleased to admit: “We haven’t tested our research like this either.”
The special exhibition “Sujana Mimumi – Exploring Sustainability” is being held at the Knowledge Forum parallel to Documenta in Kassel, specifically from June 19 to September 25. The opening is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m., including a welcome from Georgia Augusta Vice President for Research, Professor Bernard Brummer, artistic framing by the Rumah Budaya Sekikwelang Group and reception. The gallery is then open every Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Entry to the Knowledge Forum is free.