Care-woche

Stress levels are up – energy levels depleted; it’s Werkschau week in Pforzheim. At the design department of Hochschule, tense students and staff are rushing to put up works and prototypes. Meanwhile, the curators behind Ornamenta are providing a reprieve to all hard workers at Kreativzentrum Emma – staging it as a Grooming Hut for one hour. Mental and physical health are addressed in five works by recently graduated artists from Europe. For one evening, the city of Pforzheim presents itself as the gateway into the Region Nordschwarzwald and her many spas. With an endemic society in plain sight, the curators of Ornamenta welcome the audience with Hochschule Pforzheim student Lifu Zhou who developed post-pandemic brooches made of pleated infamous disposable blue facemasks. Inside the Grooming Hut exhibition spaces, guests encounter the work of Brussels-based artist Telma Lemarchand who explores one of the most exposed forms of men’s grooming. Three generations hold similar postures – taking turns in shaving each other’s facial hair: a son, a father and a grandfather. Inviting viewers to witness three men overcome the discomfort that comes with physical touching in familial relationships. In a larger exhibition room, works by three different artists are elevating the notion of caretaking. “A Real Trip from AMS to KBL”, by Berlin-born artist George Mazari, is a real-time simulation of a flight from Amsterdam to Kabul – a flight that no actual airline currently offers. The first-class cabin with auto-generated in-flight entertainment creates a sense of safety and protection – albeit a false one. Finally, uncanny projections by Tatjana Stürmer (born and raised in Darmstadt) offer a scenic approach to care. The short film follows a young woman interacting with a landscape as she slowly disappears. This powerful dystopian backdrop contrasts with the organically shaped sculptures by Jannis Zell at The Grooming Hut – where masseuses from the Pforzheim and Paris based cosmetic company La Biosthétique rub away any lingering bit of stress.