Collecting Sharpness
2023


modified tree
wood
thorns
cable ties
fan stand

120 cm x 100 cm x 210 cm



The work was created as part of a joint exhibition with students from the Athens School of Fine Arts. I worked on the Greek island of Hydra, collecting thorns.
The island is characterised by clichés of Greek culture. But as soon as you went out into nature, everything was thorny. There was a clear defensiveness of nature. Here, where livelihoods are scarce, everything grows thorns and fights back. I see the attachment of thorns to the changed plant as a social development that occurs when the environment changes and resources become rare.







Philipp Hoelzgen, All rights reserved 2024