Plastic bags are a symbol of our wasteful use of packaging material and resources. Since this year, lightweight plastic bags have even been completely banned in Germany. For some time now, plastic transport aids have been disappearing more and more from our everyday lives. Will this solve the waste problem?
Image above: courtesy of the artists
This is where the exhibition project Die letzte Tüte (The Last Bag) comes in. The artists Christl Mudrak and Alex Müller invited 30 national and international artists to also share their views and put them into a form. The result is a total of 32 works that will be on display from 19 March to 9 April 2022 in the NochMall department stores’ for second-hand goods of the Berliner Stadtreinigung (BSR) in Berlin’s Reinickendorf district. The exhibition opens on 19 March at 12 noon in the presence of the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey, the CEO of BSR, Stephanie Otto, and Annette Nawrath from the Stiftung Naturschutz Berlin
BSR CEO Stephanie Otto: “NochMall makes reuse a tangible experience. It is an appealing department stores’ and at the same time an experience platform on the topic of climate and resource protection. We not only offer goods, but also workshops, events and repair cafés. Let’s bring reuse into our everyday lives together!” The accompanying programme of the exhibition offers workshops, readings, lectures and more.
ARTISTS
Mike Bourscheid, Hanna Brandes, Vanessa Brown, Peter Dobroschke, Sophie Erlund, Isabelle Fein, Tatiana Echiverri Fernandez, Carsten Fock, Simone Gilges, Thomas Grötz, Nschotschi Haslinger, Nico Ihlein, Monika Jarecka, Christof John, Aneta Kajzer, Stephen Kent, Franziska Klotz, Kalin Lindena, Dirk Meinzer, Christl Mudrak, Alex Müller, Antonia Low, Katja Pudor, Thomas Rentmeister, Nina Rhode, Hella de Santarossa, Andreas Sell, Philip Topolovac, Sinta Werner, Claudia Wieser, Markus Wüste, Ella Ziegler
Markus Wüste chiselled a plastic bag into fine marble and increases the object’s prestige and value. It will outlast all bags and be a contemporary document of an object that has not been produced for a long time.
Christof John, on the other hand, plays with the transience of our existence. His fingerprint Christof II, cast in chalk in 2021, points to his ecological legacy, which far outlasts his own life.
Isabelle Fein questions how a bag could be better used in the future. In her sensitive painting, she decides to transform the bag into a body for plant growth.
Monika Jarecka takes a concrete look at mass consumption. The Berlin-based artist experimentally and intuitively sprays 50 already used shopping bags from the luxury segment. These works of art can be purchased in the NochMall and insert themselves anew into the cycle.
With Sunset, Thomas Rentmeister creates a plastic bag that is partly cut into strips in the frame, a humorous reminiscence of the famous work Love is in the bin by the British artist Banksy.
Finally, Andreas Sell drew up a so-called plastination contract with the help of a notary who ensured that the artist would not dissolve after his death.
WHEN?
Opening: Saturday, 19. March 2022, noon
in the presence of the Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey, the Chairwoman of the BSR, Stephanie Otto and Annette Nawrath from the Stiftung Naturschutz Berlin.
Opening of th eexhibition with guided tours every hour
WHERE?
Auguste-Viktoria-Allee 99 , 13403 Berlin-Reinickendorf
SUPPORTING PROGRAMME
Friday, 25 March 2022, 2.30 pm
Book launch Bags of Plastic with Dr Christina Thomson & Laura Wurth
Saturday, 26 March 2022, 12-14h
Guided tour with Mirjam Wuttke, Zero Waste and the Concept of Artefacts
Saturday, 26 March 2022, 2-5 p.m.
Workshop with Ella Ziegler: Next Generation – Berlin Style Upcycling with the sewing machine
Saturday, 1 April 2022, 2 – 3 p.m.
Lecture Marion Bühl: What does Calvinism have to do with The Last Bag?
Saturday, 1 April 2022, 4-6 p.m.
Workshop with Christl Mudrak & Alex Müller: Transformation I, Furniture makes people
Saturday 9 April 2022, 12-14 hrs
Hourly guided tours through the exhibition
Saturday 9 April 2022, 2-5 p.m.
Workshop with Christl Mudrak & Alex Müller: Transformation II, The Table Setting
