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CHRYSTAL RIMMER
THIS BLEEDING HEART (WITH LOVE, FROM MARS)
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE, MIET AIR & RESEARCH RESIDENCE, SAIL BRITAIN
MIET AIR Studio Beers, The Netherlands
On board Yacht Merlin, North Atlantic Ocean
After a very long hiatus from social media I’ve just returned from three months of research lead practice in Europe. I’ve spent most of my time in the Netherlands undertaking an Artist in Residence Program at MIET AIR. And a research lead expedition with Sail Britain on the Western Isles of Scotland. This was made possible by The Lift Off Award I was granted in 2019 on completion of my MFA at the National Art School, Sydney. After almost three years patiently waiting for the Covid Pandemic to subside I finally arrived in Amsterdam on the 11th of July 2022.
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I had the incredible opportunity to meet and collaborate with some of the most talented individuals and groundbreaking organisations. The MIET studio facilitated my own experimentation with bronze casting techniques for casting recycled aluminium. While Sail Britain facilitated my research into micro plastic collection and utilisation.
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In the coming entries I hope to share with you my experience, research and the stories of those who’ve been integral the development of my practice. Acknowledging the generosity I've been afforded all of my research and methodology with be open source for anyone interested in adopting waste stream materials within their art practice.
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THEMATIC PREMISE
THIS BLEEDING HEART (WITH LOVE, FROM MARS)
On an increasingly hostile planet, where chaos permeates the everyday I wonder how to combat my bleeding heart. As one concerned with loss and extinction I can only relinquish to the thought that this is nature—I am, my thoughts are, my smartphone is, just as plastic is too. Reconciliation comes from knowing my existence is but a fleeting moment on an infinite timeline. Does time cease to exist when I do? Of course we know that’s not true, it simply passes by—just as nature does—it never ceases. There is no doubt that plastic will become and perhaps already is a time stamp on earths geology, a slither of time buried beneath infinite ruins.
This project is based on the speculative narrative of life on mars. Mars presents itself as a not-so-distant reality, with colonisation of the red planet imminent one wonders what it might be like to live and make art in an alternative condition of existence.This brings me to speculate on how ‘nature’ exists across multiple cosmologies—as humans look to become a multi-planetary species how do we choose to depict nature in the future? And indeed we will be the curators—for terraforming Mars to make it habitable involves curation. And who decides but artists, for they are the visionaries—fashioning ecosystems in the image of themselves. Indeed life on Mars makes for fascinating hypotheticals however the reality is not dissimilar to our experiences of Earth now— isolating, fragmented, hostile and forbidding. So what images do we draw from? This project focuses on the symbiotic web of interdependencies that bind us to each other, to other species, and to the planet as a whole. Collecting textural impressions of human, plant and animal bodies this installation is a dreamlike hybrid of how we might depict future ecologies. The uncanny amalgamation of cellulite, scales and burls comes together as a sculptural form made of plastic waste. Plastic symbolises a truly contemporary ecosystem as it no longer sits outside of ‘natures’ definition but is wholly implicit in its description— its purpose; to dissolve the boundaries between bodies and objects bringing about mutations that remap subjectivities, hierarchies, and anatomies.
These impressions therefore must come from multiple perspectives and in collaboration. The nature of this work is fluid and traverses the practice of three artists; myself, Belle Blau and Tamsin Salehian. Like a conversation the sculpture passes through the hands of each artist undergoing a new metamorphosis with every contribution.
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PART 1:
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ARTIST IN RESIDENCE MIET AIR, BEERS, THE NETHERLANDS
AIM: THEMATIC& MATERIAL EXPLORATION
JULY 11,12,13 2022
AMSTERDAM 24°C, 26°C, 26°C
52.3676° N, 4.9041° E
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Arriving in Amterdam after 26 hours of transit I had 2 full days to see as much as Art as possible before moving on to Eindhoven in the south. I was able to reach MOCCO, Rijksmuseum, NXT Gallery and the Stedelijk Museum. Of all the collections Stedelijks It's Our F**king Backyard was a standout.
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IT'S OUR F**KING BACKYARD
STEDELIJK MUSEUM
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The Stedelijk spotlights the greatest challenge of our time: the climate crisis. The exhibition It’s Our F***ing Backyard shows that designers can make a compelling difference: through innovative experiments or by drawing on ‘forgotten’ knowledge, they invite us to look at materials in a radically new way and offer us design that is both responsible and aesthetic, comfortable and accessible. Eighty selected projects by designers and companies from all over the world shed light on an array of strategies that explore innovative uses of materials. The exhibition also looks at how soil depletion relates to practices of colonialism, which are still continued by some multinationals.
- Amanda Pinatih and Ingeborg de Roode.
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It felt invigorating to see such a bold title plastered over the city, it said we take sh*t serious here, we're not mucking around. Immediately I knew I'd landed in the right place. The Netherlands seemed to embody the attitude young artists and creatives are feeling globally; frustration, anger, despair, and incredibly, the courage push forward and innovate a sustainable future.
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NOTEWORTHY:
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Basse Stittgen
Blood Related
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Mae-Ling Lokko
Mycotunnel
Donghoon Sohn
B.S.P Series Dining Chair 2021
Roxane Lahidji
Marbled Salts
Side Note:
What about the Art?
Although this was a 'Design' exhibition, I couldn't help but feel robbed of something, where was the Art? Surely artists play an equally significant role in innovating materials? Perhaps artists more so (bold statement I know but I'll stick to it) as designers have strict parameters - we all know 'form follows function' so material must be equally functional. The privilege of being an artist innovating material is that 'function' is completely subjective. Duchamp's urinal is no urinal, nor is Magritte's a pipe. Artists innovating materials can incorporate error or fault into their piece as a device rather than a design flaw. This enables incredible freedom and perhaps a more sustainable way of practice.
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STILL TO COME....
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JULY14,15,16,17 2022
EINDHOVEN 24°C, 23°C, 23°C, 26°C
51.4231° N, 5.4623° E
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RETHINKING PLASTIC
YKSI EXPO
MAKE EINDHOVEN
WHERE\
BALKAN LABRATORIES
WHERE
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JULY18,19 2022
MAASTRICHT 34°C, 39°C
50.8514° N, 5.6910° E
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JAN VAN EYK ACADEMY
FUTURE MATERIALS LAB
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JULY 20 2022
BEERS, THE NETHERLANDS 30°C
51.7262° N, 5.8255° E
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EXPERIMENTATION WITH WAX D
MIET WORKSHOP​
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JULY ? 2022
BEERS, THE NETHERLANDS ?°C
51.7262° N, 5.8255° E
UNCANNY FORMS
MIET WORKSHOP​
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JULY ? 2022
BEERS, THE NETHERLANDS ?°C
51.7262° N, 5.8255° E
MOULD MAKING
MIET WORKSHOP​
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JULY ? 2022
BEERS, THE NETHERLANDS ?°C
51.7262° N, 5.8255° E
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HEATING UP
MIET WORKSHOP​
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AUGUST ? 2022
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS ?°C
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VAN PLASTIC
MIET WORKSHOP​
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AUGUST ? 2022
ARNHEM, THE NETHERLANDS ?°C
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OM LAB
MIET WORKSHOP​
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AUGUST ? 2022
OISTERWIJK, THE NETHERLANDS ?°C
51.5654° N, 5.2030° E
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EKWC
EUROPEAN CERAMIC WORK CENTRE
AUGUST ? 2022
BEERS, THE NETHERLANDS ?°C
51.7262° N, 5.8255° E
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RESOLUTION?
MIET WORKSHOP​
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