Protectors of the Edge
Ceramic Gargoyle
Luetzerath 2023
Sculpture 70cm x 30cm x 20cm
Humans tell stories of monsters as cautionary tales to
guide our morals. The energy giant RWE obviously hasn’t
been taking their story time seriously...so lets rectify that...
because monsters are transgressions of natural limits, and
alliances with them can become a tool of power in bridging
the nature-culture divide.
Onsite research into the narratives that build the emotional care needed to maintain the fight for ecological justice. Standing by the mine’s edge at night the red lights of the windturbines remind of the Ohmu of Nausicaa. They are protectors of the Sea of Death, the poisonous forest pushing back against human exploitation of the earth. If nature is still harmed, the Ohm’s usually blue eyes turn red “blinded by rage,” and they charge to defend. With the eviction edging closer, it seems we need to ally up with a monster as strong as the Ohmu to turn the tide and liberate the land from the machines that eat it. Before the eviction, a Priest came to bless the structures - valuing them as 'real' houses. I follow this gesture and create a gargoyle to protect the houses in the eviction.
Archiving the ZAD.
research into emerging social narratives and lore, conducted through: night watch shifts, shared meals and walks, fires, collective drawing, discussion rounds, notice board, treehouse visits.
“Each day journalists come and take the same pictures of the
pit, of the machines, of the activists, and leave. They do not
stay to hear the stories that live on this land. The stories that
give us the hope that is so strongly felt by those who stayed
there while seeing reality so clearly.” - Anonymous Activist
Standing at the edge of Garzweiler II you see a flock of red lights. You know they’re from the wind turbines surrounding the mine, but you stand by and feel that they’re a herd of Ohms, rallied by the same reasons as you: they’re angered by the destruction of the land by RWE. You stand there feeling the eviction coming, seeing the police march into the village, feeling the time to save the village with the means disposable to you run out. You stand there, at the edge and hope the Ohms will charge into the pit to destroy the machines.
Contemporary Folklore
Pop culture movies have become a contemporary folklore. In an age where community storytellers are replaced by recorded stories, animations navigate the space between this different tempo of storytelling and the entertainment industry, and often, especially in the case of Ghibli, find a balance that captures something honest and with hope. Ghibli calms our hearts and makes us feel seen in our fight. The Ohms in Nausicaa are protectors of the Sea of Death, a forest poisonous to humans to push back against human exploitation of the earth. If nature is still harmed, the Ohm’s usually blue eyes turn red “blinded by rage,” and they charge to defend.
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