Publication presentation Fieldwork II

21 May 2023, De Koer, Ghent

Every year, the PLAN B arts platform invites a group of artists to conduct artistic research in rural areas. During the second edition, the participants were Daems van Remoortere & Fallow, Sebastiaan Willemen & Lola Daels, Joris De Rycke, Lucas Devolder, Karolina Michalik and The Post Collective & Anna Housiada. 

Each of them tackled very diverse themes: from commons to saline agriculture, from labour migration to the influence of dams on ecosystems, from a nature documentary to research into how we can relate to new landscapes. More information can be found here. 

Now we look back with a publication that documents and explores the process of the various projects. We will also screen three films that are linked to or were created during Fieldwork II. More information about these films can be found below. Welcome!

Practical information:

2 p.m.: Come and collect your publication
3.30 p.m.: Start of film programme (approx. 100 minutes)
6 p.m.: End

Address: de Koer, Meibloemstraat 86, 9000 Ghent
 
This is a free event. For the publication, we are using a PWYC system of £10 - £15 - £20 (cash or Payconiq). 
 

Film programme:
 

REROOTING (2023, 19 minutes)
the Post (Film) Collective
Subtitled in English

In this film, a multitude of voices, languages and translations are woven together like the threads of a spider's web. Together, they bridge a space in which the makers try to understand and reinforce each other, and in which they further deepen their relationship with nature. The voices wander and echo through the forest, making their way along uninhabited paths. A vast space unfolds: a space that belongs to no one, but also to everyone – just as this film is the work of many authors together.

perpendicular parallels (2023, +- 20’)
Karolina Michalik
Subtitled in English
 

Seasonal labour migration remains a socio-cultural blind spot. Based on this observation, 'perpendicular parallels' maps out a multitude of themes and contexts surrounding this form of working and living. In the wake of a Polish-language job advertisement sent out by a West Flemish mushroom farm, different perspectives are brought together to trace this blind spot. With mushrooms as a guide, like the invisible threads of mycelium that connect underground, different experiences of identity and community, tradition and heritage, time and seasonality, and different relationships with nature are linked together.

Ruderalia (2023, +- 60’)
Joris De Rycke
Dutch spoken, subtitled in English 

From the perspective of a walker, we look at places where raw materials were or are being extracted on an industrial scale. Soon, the geological history of these places and the ecosystems that develop there become apparent. The camera looks around and zooms in on the small: stones, insects, and a leading role for plants. They are characters that give expression to the place where they are located. As the place changes, the plant will eventually disappear and make way for other species. In this way, they are not only connected to the soil, but also to the events that shape the landscape. 

 With the support of the City of Ghent and the Flemish Government.

Film still REROOTING

Film still perpendicular parallels