The issue of sustainability and its urgency have increasingly taken a back seat in recent years. The ever new crises in global society have placed other issues in the foreground. Nevertheless, sustainability remains of great importance. Civil society, as well as research and companies, are facing major challenges. Plastics, which are not very sustainable, play a decisive role in this. More specifically, the polymers from which plastic is made and which pollute our environment. In the sixth FUNKEN Night, we will get to know polymers and their influence on our lives from an artistic and scientific perspective.

Programme:

From 17:00 – Open Doors
17:30 – Keynote speech by Lisa-Marie Nettlenbusch M.A.

Lisa-Marie Nettlenbusch researches sustainability and investigates how product development can adapt to the conditions of the climate crisis at an early stage. She gives us an insight into research into the stability of the earth system. She also explains what planetary boundaries are and what role the use and consumption of plastic plays in exceeding them.

Cho. I’m breaking up with you. With or Without You, Goethe-Institut, Dublin, 2024. (c) Carolin Liebl & Nikolas Schmid-Pfähler.

18:00 – Nature Soft & Cho I’m breaking up with you.

Carolin Liebl and Nikolas Schmid-Pfähler are engaged in the artistic exploration of plastic ageing. Their research questions the promises of biodegradability and sheds light on the invisible forces at work on a molecular level. By visualising these transformations, they encourage us to reflect on our ambivalent relationship with plastics. They have brought two works with them for this evening.