Monuments, Voids and Voices #4 The Discovery of Presence and Absence

Authors: Emma Chamberlin, Tosia Chomik, Elfreda Harvey

This project addresses an important issue whilst studying memory practices: How do we remember something when it is gone, and how do we fill the voids of what is missing and practically not documented? At the core of this study is Friedrich B. Henkel's statue Grosse metamorphe Landschaftsfigur (1994).

The story focuses on the relationship between nature and art, leading the listener through the Kultursammlung (sculpture park) around the Kleiner Teich in Volkspark Friedrichshain. In contrast to other memorial sites in the park, these sculptures do not serve a commemorative function but were instead created as autonomous artistic works.

The soundwalk follows four sculptures: Peter Kern's Begegnung (1977-80), Peter Kern's Bedrohte (1982), Werner Stötzer's Sitzende mit aufgestütztem Arm (1967-74) and Friedrich Henkel's Große Metamorphe Landschaftsfigur (1994). The two latter are no longer present in the park due to vandalism or theft. This fosters the question: why have these specific works been targeted by such actions? Is art less important than history?

These four works show or used to show abstract figures, with a particular focus on organic shapes. During the walk listeners are encouraged to use their imagination and reflect on the different experiences between an absent or present statue as well as the remaining memory of the artists' works. The main focus is the last sculpture presented in the soundwalk, the Grosse metamorphe Landschaftsfigur by Friedrich B. Henkel, which was stolen over 10 years ago and of which very limited information can be found. The walk invites listeners to reimagine how the statue once was and to reflect on how its disappearance can impact one's relationship with a particular space and the area surrounding it.