"After the Rain" - Artist Residency, Saudia Arabia
Oak, brass, cotton fabric, wool and palm fronds
2023
Artist Residency in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia with The Royal Commission for Al Ula and The Prince's Foundation School of Traditional Arts.
Together with my husband, Joachim Tantau, I was invited to produce a large scale installation in the courtyard of Al Ula’s new Design Gallery. Over a period of five weeks we created a set of life-size Platonic solids, and an array of spiraling flower-like forms und the title "After the Rain - A Geometric Garden".
After the Rain is a celebration of life in the desert of AlUla: When rain falls, the desert starts blooming. An abundance of flowers and plants pushing out of the ground with vigour, eager to reach the sky, embellishing the landscape in their blossom. This life is a delicate and transient balance of earth, sun and water. It is a magnificent metabolism of the rich mineral content of the rocks being transformed into organic life through the blessing of the water. What lay dormant under the crisp desert sunlight suddenly shapes itself into a multitude of flowers and leafs of a stunning intricacy and refinement. A structure and order emerges that beautifully complements the bold grandeur of the desert landscape.
After the Rain captures the beauty of this process into a sculptural structure. It expresses life in the desert as an amalgamation of the eternal crystalline structure of the minerals and the abundant plant life that emerges from the ground after the rain.
The pieces were produced using mainly natural local materials, the colours used for these projects were mainly derived from local rocks and plants. The rocks were collected and prepared into fabric dye by the artist herself. Some of the local peoples were also involved in the project: palm frond weavers, wool spinners and embroiderers.
Together with my husband, Joachim Tantau, I was invited to produce a large scale installation in the courtyard of Al Ula’s new Design Gallery. Over a period of five weeks we created a set of life-size Platonic solids, and an array of spiraling flower-like forms und the title "After the Rain - A Geometric Garden".
After the Rain is a celebration of life in the desert of AlUla: When rain falls, the desert starts blooming. An abundance of flowers and plants pushing out of the ground with vigour, eager to reach the sky, embellishing the landscape in their blossom. This life is a delicate and transient balance of earth, sun and water. It is a magnificent metabolism of the rich mineral content of the rocks being transformed into organic life through the blessing of the water. What lay dormant under the crisp desert sunlight suddenly shapes itself into a multitude of flowers and leafs of a stunning intricacy and refinement. A structure and order emerges that beautifully complements the bold grandeur of the desert landscape.
After the Rain captures the beauty of this process into a sculptural structure. It expresses life in the desert as an amalgamation of the eternal crystalline structure of the minerals and the abundant plant life that emerges from the ground after the rain.
The pieces were produced using mainly natural local materials, the colours used for these projects were mainly derived from local rocks and plants. The rocks were collected and prepared into fabric dye by the artist herself. Some of the local peoples were also involved in the project: palm frond weavers, wool spinners and embroiderers.
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