At night in the Sculpture Park | frankfurt

A special show lures you to Metzlerpark

The smell of earthy and green grass permeates the small, round room, which is furnished with a double bed and a narrow shelf. A flat screen TV is attached to the wall and shows the weather forecast. The way this room reveals itself is stunning and one cannot be expected to enter the grass-covered hill that rises in an area of ​​the Metzlerpark on the Sachsenhausen Museumsufer. In fact there are actually two hills that are reminiscent of the abode of the first hobbits, the protagonists of the books by JJR Tolkien “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”.

The idea for this habitable sculpture goes back to French artist and filmmaker Laure Prouvost. The hill shape of the work, so it can be read on a sign, takes on the female breast – which is interpreted as a symbol of Mother Earth and the cycle of life. And if you’re inside a hill with a small, round room, you really feel very close to nature.

mayor be here

Starting June 26, the work of art can be experienced as one of six livable sculptures as part of the “TinyBee: Living in a Sculpture” project that will be on display at Metzlerpark until tomorrow. You could even spend the night there, the offer was taken up 40 times, says Cornelia Salfrank, the initiator of the project. The work of Terence Koh, which looks like a tree house, and the work of Thomas Schutte, whose habitable sculpture is reminiscent of a small house, were also particularly popular. Mayor Peter Feldman also stayed there.

Frankfurt was the central exhibition space of the project, which is defined as a living platform for artistic vision and brings together art, science and architecture. In addition to the main metropolis, a habitable sculpture can be seen in Darmstadt and Wiesbaden until tomorrow. It is also an experimental project, which seeks to create room for discussion about possible life models or even ways of life.

“We had about 20,000 visitors at all three locations, and a total of 45 overnight stays in the three cities,” Salfrank says. An experience that is not cheap at all. Overnight stays cost 120 euros during the week and 180 euros on the weekends. The idea of ​​the “Tinybee Project” is to be continued in the future – as a biennial or triennial, i.e. every two or three years. In other cities, in other countries.

When asked whether she herself and what sculpture she lived in, during the tour, Salfrank points to the work of an interdisciplinary group of artists, scientists and architects called “My-Co-X”. What’s special is that the group used sustainable raw materials for this – mushrooms that regrow. “It was used to coat the diamond-shaped plywood elements,” explains the project initiator. The shape of this habitable sculpture is based on Russian architect Galina Balaschova’s space capsule designs, but the diamond elements are not bound together in such a way that they fit together perfectly. Instead, air enters through the gap and lets you experience the dark night. “It was a very special experience,” says Salfrank. You sleep on the futon in it. You can also inflate an air mattress if the surface is too hard for you. The last chance to spend the night is on Saturday. More information on the Internet at: https://tinybe.org.