AiRArtist in Residence

Chretzeturm

The artist who was born in Newcastle, Australia, is known for his large-format stone installations that can be seen in relation to conceptual art forms such as Land Art, Arte Povera and the Japanese Mono-ha movement.

«My work is grounded in observance and documentation, particularly that of native plants and their interface with the urban and industrial landscape. I take geometric forms derived from architectural language, and transfigure these into sculptures made from concrete and rock waste. I look at the ways in which native plants are sometimes able to exploit niches in our built environment – a crack in the mortar, a busted drain pipe – and create opportunities within the sculptural form that mimic this process.» (Jamie North, 2021)

North artistically explores geomorphological processes. The basic materials of all three parts of the installation Stone in Three Phases – Stone Field, Rock Suspension and Remainders – are rocks made of steel slag, a waste product of steel production.

North’s work is a recreation of habitats for plants. He artificially accelerates natural processes such as weathering and soaking of the slag to create a milieu suitable for plants. According to the artist’s understanding, slag as a waste product is a new geological material. He compares his work with archaeological excavations. He does not uncover artifacts, however, but while excavating discovers the traces of his own decisions made when casting. Only by removing the superfluous material does the negative form turn into a positive one.

At first sight, Stone Field captivates the viewer through its rigid order, which is interrupted, however, by intentional irregularities. Small ferns and mosses settle in the brittle and porous material. In Rock Suspension, North transfers the subterranean path of water to the outside. The stones threaded on a chain are reminiscent of the Japanese rain chain (kusari-toi). Remainders consists of a series of spheres that the artist cast himself. The spheres stand for the completeness of the incomplete.

Against the backdrop of current debates on climate change, Jamie North also understands it as a «hyperobject» in the sense of the philosopher and ecologist Timothy Morton. Hyperobjects are events whose scale go beyond human comprehension, as their reach and impact surpass our understanding of space and time. They are to be grasped beyond the dichotomy of nature and culture. Based on this radically new understanding, cultural actions are nature per se. Therefore, North’s artistic approach also presupposes a new understanding of mimesis.¹

Jamie North presented his 15-minute Artidoku at the Kulturhaus Obere Stube on October 4, 2023. The film provides a sensitive insight into the more than three-month preparation and production of the sculptures Stone in Three Phases in an empty cowshed in Hemishofen near Stein am Rhein. They are on display as a permanent, tripartite installation in the courtyard of the Kulturhaus Obere Stube.

Jamie North lives and works in Sydney. His works can be found in public spaces, particularly in Australia and other English speaking countries. International awards and residencies have led him to Singapore, Turkey and the United States, among other places. The artist is represented for the first time in Switzerland with this tripartite work.

During his three-month stay in Stein am Rhein, he conceived and produced the installation as Artist in Residence at Chretzeturm and in a workshop in Hemishofen. He exclusively used local materials and regional plants, which he partially collected in the environs.

« The fundamental question is whether humans should be regarded as a part of nature. My stance is that humans are indeed a part of nature, and our culture is an expression of nature, much like the barn swallow's nest-building, which constitutes a cultural activity within the realm of nature.» (Jamie North, 2023)

Jamie North was Artist in Residence at the Chretzeturm of the Jakob and Emma Windler Foundation from May to July 2022.

Text: Helga Sandl (translated by Karl Hoffmann)
Photos: Roberta Fele
Stills: Film Jamie North