CABINET OF PLASTIC WONDER – a story of dystopia – by Nadine Baldow

STORY

It’s the year 2100. The world as we know it does no longer exist. Plastic occupied the whole earth and life changed dramatically. As most of the plastic waste ends up in the sea, especially the living beings in the sea had to cope with the impact of various micro plastic invasions: unbreakable polymers in small pieces everywhere, plastic as a deforming force etc… The futuristic CABINET OF PLASTIC WONDER shows the impact plastic had in the 2050s and how life dealt with it – or not. It displays objects or curiosities of an apocalyptic scenario in our future.

Through this cabinet, the viewer is confronted with a very near dystopic vision of our future.

HOW WILL THE “CABINET OF PLASTIC WONDER” LOOK LIKE?

In its exhibition manner, the CABINET OF PLASTIC WONDER will refer to the cabinets of curiosities of the 17th century. The objects will be presented as curiosities in showcases and on shelves. The style of showcases and shelves will be simple and futuristic with the aim to create the cold atmosphere of a laboratory. The materials of those exhibition items of furniture will be glass and steel. Dystopic but aesthetic stories will be told by the exhibited objects. The impact of the artificial, alien-like material plastic will be shown. Possible exhibition objects might be: corals growing on plastic waste, the combination of stuffed animals with plastic easily identifiable as every-day-plastic, like bags or bottles, etc..

The CABINET OF PLASTIC WONDERS consists of approximately 3-5 shelves of steel, 7 – 10 showcases in various sizes and 1-3 single socles. The shelves will be packed with objects of curiosity, the showcases and socles will present isolated objects.

ARTIST STATEMENT

The question of our human relationship to nature is the basis of my work as an artist. One observation I made repeatedly is the tendency, that mankind seems to be driven to optimize their living space in a dominant way according to their own terms. Nature solely becomes an abundant resource.

Despite the newly popular trend to “restore nature”, industrialization and the attached development of a far-reaching infrastructure are endlessly emerging.
There is hardly any place on earth where no human being has ever been before. Nature is rather subordinated to those processes and rarely seen as an equal part, much less would the human being feel to be in an inferior position to “mother nature”. If we just see the potential of controllable resources in our surroundings, are we still part of nature? –  Nadine Baldow

THREE ACTIONS WITH THE PUBLIC 

Plastic Occupier (Workshop)

I would love to go for a hike with a group of people, who are interested in our impact on nature. This walk would be like a research about how spread plastic is in a natural surrounding. We will collect the plastic we find and build an installation with that material, to make that existence of human-made materials in nature visible.


Are we nature? (Artist Talk/Discussion)

What is “nature” for us? Are we still part of nature?
In this artist talk/discussion, Nadine Baldow will focus on those questions and her experiences of her nature-near artist-in-residencies in the Himalayas, nature protection area Vilm and the national park Sumava in the Czech Republic. Everybody is invited to discuss his or her point of view.

I am super toxic (Banner in public space)

The banners of the series “I am super toxic” show alien-like artificial biomorphic structures in different landscapes. The headline says “I am super toxic”. Nadine Baldow has already realized them in 2017 on advertisement billboards in the public. They can be shown on any regular billboard in the city.

BIOGRAPHY

Nadine Baldow (*1990, Dresden, Germany) is a visual artist with the focus on site-specific installations.

After her apprenticeship as a wood carver in the Alps, Nadine Baldow moved to Dresden to study Visual Arts. There she studied in the class of professor Eberhard Bosslet at the Academy of Fine Arts from 2013 through 2018 and will presumably finish her degree course this summer.

Passionate to explore her own personal relationship to nature, she took part in several adventurous, nature-near artist-in-residencies such as in the Himalayas in India, the national park Šumava in the Czech Republic and the nature conservation island Vilm in Germany. Based on her work and experiences in those remote areas, her impression of “nature” as a completely by mankind occupied planet strengthened. Most of her works deal with our perspective on nature and the impact we have on our planet.

Due to the working stipend of the Federal Environmental Agency (UBA), she had the opportunity to experience the uninhabited nature conservation island, Vilm, and to work with the nature protection academy for six weeks. Her site-specific installations made of plastics have been awarded the Polyurethane Innovation Award 2017. Last year, the installation “Marked Sheep” has been nominated for the Blooom Award at the ArtFair Düsseldorf and she has been the holder of a national scholarship in Germany.

Besides several interventions in public space in Panjim, Dresden, and Görlitz, Nadine Baldow exhibited in Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Indonesia, and India. Her works have been shown at the Contemporary Art Week Delhi, India; the international exhibition of contemporary art OSTRALE, Dresden, Germany; the RED BASE Foundation Yogyakarta, Indonesia; and the ArtFair Düsseldorf, Germany.

Find more on www.nadinebaldow.com

INTERVENTIONS IN PUBLIC SPACE:

// Super Toxic Terrarium // GÖRLITZ (GER)
https://www.nadinebaldow.com/work/super-toxic-terrarium/

// Human Occupier // Panjim (INDIA)
https://www.nadinebaldow.com/work/human-occupier/

// Plastic Pleasure // Dresden (GER)
https://www.nadinebaldow.com/work/super-sweet-showcases/

// I am super toxic! // (banner) Dresden, Görlitz (GER)
https://www.nadinebaldow.com/work/super-toxic-terrarium/

INTERVIEW ABOUT “MARKED SHEEP”, ARTFAIR DÜSSELDORF
http://www.blooomawardbywarsteiner.com/blog_en

WORK IN PROGRESS:

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