The Sweat of the Soil

To mark the closing of the exhibition THE LONG TERM YOU CAN NOT AFFORD, we warmly invite you to join artist Stephan Thierbach on an excursion to return remediated soil to Riesenfelder – a former sewage treatment area in the northern outskirts of Berlin. During the course of the exhibition, Thierbach has performed a series of cleansing ceremonies titled “Der Schweiß der Erde” on soil extracted from one of the many black water basins in the area, assisting the polluted soil to sweat out all its toxins (in German “Altlasten”). In a collective act of returning the soil to its place of orgin, Thierbach will share his knowledge on the history of urban sanitation practice and planning in and around Berlin spanning back to the turn of the 18th century to the present day, all flavored by more personal memories, anecdotes and his deeper family connections to the area.

We will meet on 01.12.2019 at 14:00 at S2-Röntgental. Please wear proper walking shoes and warm clothes, we will walk, talk, dig, plant and reflect on notions of how to care for histories and memories that too often escape public consciousnesses.

On Monday, 02.12.2019, there will also be the possibility to join Stephan Thierbach in a longer conversation with the forest ranger Olaf Zeuschner at Revierförsterei Buch. Herr Zeuschner has lead the process of restoring the nature (Renaturierungsprozess) of Rieselfelder since 1989/1990. We will meet at 11:15h at S2-Buch.