WALDMEISTER

Hidden treasures – Chemnitz in the cycle of time

Participants

(c) Wenke Sommer

Wenke Sommer

Wiete Sommer is a designer and curator. She combines design, art, science and business with an anthropological perspective. In large collaborative projects – often with performative, fashion or film elements – she develops themes such as New Work, gender and social and ecological sustainability.
She was supported in this work by Anita Richter, Ines and Wenke Sommer.

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Saxon Textile Research Institute e.V.

The STFI has been a non-profit research institute in Chemnitz since 1992. It focuses on technical textiles, lightweight textile construction, functionalisation, digitalisation and recycling. As a strong institution for applied research, the institute works on textile sustainability as well as resource-efficient and energy-optimised processes.

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(c) Ina Goetz

Undoyarn

Ina Goetz

Ina Goetz is the founder of UNDOYARN, a sustainable project from Chemnitz that reuses yarns from used knitwear – with the aim of consciously utilising resources and creating spaces for shared learning and creative experimentation.

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The EscheLab

The EscheLab is a workshop for creative textile work – with a focus on knitting, embroidery and clothing. It also offers space for encounters and exchange.

The result of artistic and technological collaboration – WALDMEISTER – Hidden treasures – Chemnitz in the cycle of time

“I want to make visible a Chemnitz that is often overlooked – a Chemnitz that is reinventing itself: from what was, with what is. I hear the rattling of textile machines, see traces of the car industry that once characterised the cityscape. What has remained? What is emerging from it?

I set off in search of clues: to the STFI, where research is being conducted into the materials of the future, to the Esche Lab, which keeps history alive. I meet Ina Götz from UNDOYARN, who unravels old woollen jumpers and feeds the yarn into a new cycle. These places, people and ideas are new chapters for me – descendants of the former industry, the silent pulse of the city.

Myths also find a place here: for example, the legend of the black poodle with the red eyes that guarded ores deep beneath the city – an inspiration for Goethe’s Mephistopheles. Such stories live on in my work: as part of an idea of Chemnitz as a city full of depth, magic and hidden treasures.

At the centre of my work is also the woodruff – a delicate, native plant that symbolises community, conviviality and circulation for me. I think of late summer evenings by the fire, of bonding conversations. For me, woodruff has come to symbolise what happens when science, business, art and design come together.”

– Wiete Sommer

Material

Carpet/ salvaged wool, virgin wool, acrylic wool/ tufted, light object/ textile, fibre optics, brass/ embroidered, sewn/ crocheted, seating object/ textile offcuts/ kemafiled

Photographs: (c) Michele Scognamillo

Backgrounds

The starting point of this exhibition is a subtle irony: a collaboration of protagonists who deal with the visible – with fabric, texture and textile expression – focuses on the visibility of their own organisations. In the context of Chemnitz’s rich textile tradition, they pose the question: How can individual specialisations be bundled in order to generate greater attention together? What traces do collective actions, shared techniques and decisions leave behind?

Visibility is not only negotiated here as a question of surface, but as an expression of a common attitude – as a search for form, public presence and historical localisation. The work addresses the viewer’s need for recognisability by simultaneously offering itself as a backdrop for digital self-staging. In this way, the visitors themselves become part of a collective process that began with an initial meeting in the EscheLab, builds on the neatly separated – and thus rescued – wool of Undoyarn, is supported by the knowledge of Elke Thiele and the STFI and takes shape through the hands of Wiete Sommer. Finally, an old story of Chemnitz is told anew.

Protocols in Process

First prototypes in reflection.

Dialogue between art, business and technology.

(c) Videography and editing by Florian Schurz.

(c) Hannah Frauenrath

Participants

Laura Immler lives in Leipzig and develops spatial and stage concepts, sound works and content settings for performances in the independent scene, at municipal and state theatres and in art spaces. Her works incorporate built, public and digital spaces and scrutinise social orders and future scenarios in a (post-)capitalist context.

Olivia Rosendorfer (all pronouns) works as a set designer, costume designer and performer. Her work centres on the development of site-specific, immersive stage spaces in which architecture and sound interact to create atmospheres that engage the audience.

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Programming: Klaus Schapp, Vector Informatik GmbH

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Interviews with / visits to:

• Fraunhofer IWU / Machine Tools and Forming Technology / Dr Julia Schönherr
• Fraunhofer ENAS / Electronic nanosystems / Andrea Messig
• 3D-Micromac AG / Laser micromachining / Claudia Radelow
• Vector Informatik GmbH / Maren Fromme
• EDC Electronic Design Chemnitz / Circuits for microchips / Dr Detlef Billep
• TU Research Centre MAIN / Materials, architectures and integration of nanomembranes / Dr Thomas Blaudeck

The result of artistic technological collaboration – Protocols in Process

Laura Immler’s work Protocols in Process is a laboratory space, time capsule and experimental set-up all in one. Visitors encounter etched copper plates, encrypted company secrets and talking sensors. Distributed sound prototypes measure environmental parameters and translate them into speech. If certain values get out of control – if it gets too hot or too loud – the sensors warn the visitors.

As part of the FUNKEN Kolleg, Immler visited six companies and research institutes on the Chemnitz Technology Campus. It makes processes visible that otherwise only take place in secret: People and materials can be both objects of risk and protection.

A central element of the installation is a paused encryption process. Confidential interview fragments were etched into copper plates using photolithography – a technique used in circuit board production. The method is based on the Rosetta Stone – a historical data carrier that makes it possible to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics. The combination of modern encryption with an ancient reference system materialises the desire to preserve knowledge over long periods of time.

Material

various stainless steel rods; hot-dip galvanised tubular connectors; anchor plates made of MDF, iron(III)chloride solution 40%; acid-resistant etching tray; various copper plates with Greek writing symbols created by photolithography 10x15cm/1mm; XOR key binary on copper plate; corroded graphene on copper plates and copper circuit boards; illuminants; mobile sound prototypes with various sensors, raspis, power bank and loudspeakers

Photographs: (c) Michele Scognamillo

Backgrounds:

The FUNKEN Space on the technology campus is to develop into a place where art and technology can interact with each other. In order to artistically explore the campus as a living and working space, Laura Immler conducted interviews with employees of various resident organisations and gained insights into their everyday working lives.

With a “look through the keyhole”, she uses aesthetic means to open up new perspectives on the inner workings of research laboratories and working environments to visitors. Her work invites visitors to perceive previously hidden spaces or to see familiar environments and technologies with different eyes in the context of different materialities and narratives.

Cottonid Studien

The idea, the work process and the FUNKEN Kolleg “Fraunhofer IWU X Kollektiv Plus X”.

(c) Videography and editing by Marcel Seerig. Bachmann, Schmidt & Seerig GbR | TD Media

Participants

Collective Plus X

Sascha Henken

Sascha Henken is co-founder of the collective Plus X, founded in 2027 . It works at the interface of design, art and urbanism. The aim of the collective is to promote democratic structures and strengthen social participation through creative approaches.

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Fraunhofer IWU

Dr Julia Schönherr

Dr Julia Schönherr is a scientific advisor to the institute management at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in Chemnitz. She is responsible for the strategic dovetailing of research and institute management with a focus on process technologies.

The result of artistic and technological collaboration – Cottonid studies

How can we bring an old material into a new form?

Cottonid, also known as vulcanised fibre, is a material based on cellulose. It is one of the oldest plastics and has been produced industrially since 1859. In contrast to the plastics commonly used today, Cottonid is not based on mineral oil, but is made from cotton fibres, which are by-products, waste or rejects from clothing production. In the past, for example, suitcases were made from vulcanised fibre. Today, cotton fibre is only used in a few areas of application – for example for seals or as a decorative element in knife handles.

We are trying to find a new form for this old material, because Cottonid has many positive properties. It is compostable and no adhesives, resins or mineral oil are used in its production. In addition, the base material is obtained from waste products from cotton production, is based on a renewable raw material and is therefore very environmentally friendly. Compared to conventional plastics, Cottonid is also moisture-regulating and flame-retardant.

The object on which we are conducting our material studies is an archetypal piece of furniture: the stool. Seating furniture is one of the first pieces of man-made furniture. They are not only used for comfort, but also mark places where people come together. Above all, however, the stool demonstrates the strengths of the Cottonid: it is light and stable – making it possible to produce stable and light seating furniture with relatively little material.

Photographs: (c) Michele Scognamillo

Backgrounds:

The collaboration between Kollektiv X and Fraunhofer IWU is characterised by a shared interest in materials research. The IWU is one of the leading institutes for resource-efficient manufacturing and pursues the goal of developing sustainable production processes. This context gave rise to an interest in vulcanised fibre, also known as cottonid – a traditional material that is now gaining new relevance in lightweight construction.

The engineer Dr Julia Schönherr is committed to the visibility of technical issues. With Kollektiv X – represented by co-founder Sascha Henken – she has found a partner who negotiates social issues through design and large-scale installations in urban spaces. Together they ask: Which materials are suitable for responsible design, and how can technical and social aspects be combined?

The collaboration shows how art and science pursue common goals despite different approaches: Making knowledge visible, helping to shape social processes and opening up new spaces for debate.

Rattling landscapes, humming engines. A fragmentary, composable and accessible archive of car stories in Chemnitz

The idea, the working process and the FUNKEN Kolleg “Pinpoint X Emebeat X Frederike Moorman”

(c) Videography and editing by Florian Schurz.

Participants

Pinpoint

Ian Jagiella from Pinpoint GmbH focusses on the relationship between humans and machines, particularly in the context of sensory perception and cognitive processes. Building on his studies in “Sensory and Cognitive Psychology” at Chemnitz University of Technology, he works at Pinpoint on the intuitive design of interfaces between technology and users.

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Embeat

Matthias Millhoff aka. emebeat works at the interface of immersive sound art, performative formats and interactive spatial concepts. He designs hybrid sound spaces for game theatre, develops installative sound art and uses modular synthesizers to improvisationally explore the interplay of structure and intuition.

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Frederike Moormann is a sound and radio artist and artistic researcher. Her practice combines archival research, sound, public space and collaborative performative elements to explore how historical ruptures continue to shape power relations and social connections today.

Lefteris Krysalis is a sound and radio artist and researcher with a degree in Art History and an MFA in Media Arts. As a PhD candidate at the Bauhaus University Weimar, he investigates soundscapes and the politics of listening.

Diana Karle is a sound and performance artist. She develops sonic encounters in which collected sounds, stories and spatial rhythms come together. She uses technology as a means to shift boundaries between human and non-human actors.

The result of artistic and technological collaboration – rattling landscapes, humming engines. A fragmentary, composable and accessible archive of car stories in Chemnitz

Engines whirring. Machines rattle. Voices whisper, sing, hum and tell their car stories. The immersive interior audio walk explores the sonic traces of the automotive industry in Chemnitz. Between intimacy and industrial heritage, between memory and the present.

Chemnitz’s industrial past is characterised by historical ruptures – National Socialism, the GDR, reunification – and at the same time by continuities in work and identity. The car is an intimate place of personal affection and at the same time integrated into large-scale industrial processes.

Based on the local environment – in particular a nearby engine plant – the audio walk combines personal memories and work biographies with binaural sound experience and spatial navigation of the visitors through the space.

Photographs: (c) Michele Scognamillo

Backgrounds

Even before the FUNKEN Kolleg, Pinpoint GmbH felt the need to test its own technology in an artistic context. The initial impetus for this came from an exchange with Matthias Millhoff, whose work on auditory perception in space through movement inspired the idea of an interactive installation – a spatial sound environment whose dynamics are directly influenced by physical movement. His expertise in dealing with tracking technologies, sensor data and spatial sound created the link between Pinpoint’s technology and the experimental sound artists around Frederike Moormann.

The group contributes content to the collaboration and at the same time builds a bridge to Chemnitz’s industrial history: The automobile is at the centre of their contribution. They are researching local archives in order to pick up on historical narratives – and at the same time develop possible statements about the future.
What changes when archive material on the history of the automotive industry is not only viewed, but also physically experienced through movement in space?
How can such abstract questions be technically realised?
What actions can be triggered simply by changing one’s own position in space – and in what practical contexts does such a relationship between perception and action become relevant?

Waves in the wood – the tree body as an audiovisual data network

The idea, the working process and the FUNKEN Kolleg “Atelier Polza X Project Miro”.

(c) Videography and editing by Marcel Seerig. Bachmann, Schmidt & Seerig GbR | TD Media

Participants

Project MIRO

Simon Paasch

Simon Paasch is a geographer with a master’s degree in physical geography and specialises in remote sensing and biogeography. At the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in the hydrology department, he works on the modelling of water availability and its relevance in the context of political and ecological issues.

(More about the MIRO project: www.obstbau-digital.de)

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Atelier Polza

Emma Chapuy and Paul Schengber

Emma Chapuy and Paul Schengber work together under the name Atelier Polza. They develop extensive audiovisual installations, 2D and 3D animations and web-based applications. They are constantly researching new creative coding tools and collaborate with artists and scientists on an interdisciplinary basis.

(More about Atelier Polza: www.polza.de)

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The result of artistic and technological collaboration – the web application

As part of the collaboration between the MIRO project and Atelier Polza, a web application was created that visualises the sap flow of apple trees and makes it comparable. In order to give the biological processes a tangible, spatial form, the trees were translated into detailed 3D models using photogrammetry. This allows the measurement data to be directly linked to the respective tree structure and visualised in digital space.

In addition to sap flow, environmental parameters such as precipitation, soil moisture and temperature are also integrated. This data is not only visually coded, but in some cases also translated into sounds or noises (sonified) in order to make complex relationships accessible.

The combination of real measured values and virtual visualisation opens up a new form of data perception that goes beyond traditional diagrams. The spatial and sensory presentation enables intuitive access to plant physiological processes – both for MIRO scientists and for an interested public.

Photographs: (c) Michele Scognamillo

Backgrounds:

Atelier Polza and Simon Paasch recognised their shared interest in the topic of water early on in the project. The urgency of dealing with sustainability and climate change becomes particularly clear when looking at water balancing in fruit growing – a young and specialised field of research.

The optimisation of water supply is based on extensive data sets, which are usually presented in graphic models. These do not always appear accessible, comprehensible or aesthetically pleasing, even to a specialised audience.

This collaboration takes an alternative approach: data sets and parameters from water balancing and sustainable fruit growing are translated into audiovisual works of art. This creates visual-artistic narrative forms that make complex scientific content accessible to a wide audience.

We are looking forward to the response – especially when Simon Paasch feeds the artistic results back into the scientific community at the UFZ.

SHAPING THE INVISIBLE – FOLDING OF DNA STRANDS AND RENDERING STRUCTURES IN NANO SCALE

CAROLIN LIEBL AND NIKOLAS SCHMID-PFÄHLER | FRAUNHOFER ENAS

In this course, participants embarked on a journey into the nanosphere. Under the guidance of Carolin Liebl and Nikolas Schmid-Pfähler and in collaboration with scientists from Fraunhofer ENAS, the participants folded DNA and created tiny structures that could be detected using an atomic force microscope (AFM). The resulting images showed the structures beyond their short lifespan. The participants’ experience with scientific processes and procedures in the laboratory served as a starting point for their artistic exploration of the resulting materials.

The participants translated their experiences with and in the nanosphere into an artistic medium of their choice. In this course, the participants combined scientific and artistic spheres with sculptural approaches, print graphics and moving image and media artworks.

METAL DATA SOLID CULTURE – INFORMATION AND ITS PROTECTION AS A MEDIUM OF ART

PAWEL JANICKI | FRAUNHOFER IWU

In this course, the participants focussed on the physical dimension of information in the digital age. Under the direction of Pawel Janicki and in collaboration with scientists from Fraunhofer IWU, they explored the role of information as a cultural asset. The focus was on the question of how data can not only be stored, but also processed artistically as material and medium.

The exploration of open licences, free resources and data-based processes formed the basis for the artistic questioning of a highly developed metal 3D printing process (LPBF). By exploring the transformation of digital information into physical objects, the participants created their own works that opened up new artistic possibilities at the interface of data flow and materiality.

INTERSPACE – CO-CREATION WITH FUNGI
NOOR STENFERT KROESE | FRAUNHOFER IWU

In this course, participants explored the possibilities of collaborative design practice with fungi. Under the direction of Noor Stenfert Kroese and in cooperation with the Fraunhofer IWU, the focus was on working with mycelium – the root-like network of fungi. The starting point was Fraunhofer IWU’s research with the aim of developing a substrate that enables 3D printing with living material.

In a careful examination of the living material, the participants worked not only with each other, but also with the mycelium as an active player in its own right. In an open, dialogue-based process, prototypes, thought models and speculative forms were created that understand the mycelium not as a mere material, but as a partner in the creative process.

The resulting works outlined approaches to a sustainable, symbiotic material culture – in close dialogue between humans and mycelium.

Pictures: © Johannes Richter

Artists and experts from the fields of dance, music and technology joined forces to explore the connections between the body and technology. With the help of robotics, wearables, AI, software development and intelligent lighting solutions, new forms of movement and interaction were created. Improvised experiments and creative prototyping processes led to surprising insights and innovative artistic approaches.

The Dance Hack relied on spontaneous, interdisciplinary collaboration – each participant contributed their own expertise and inspired the group. The focus was on shared flow, exchange and the open exploration of new creative possibilities. Whether dancers, programmers or designers – everyone was able to discover new perspectives and develop innovative ideas.

The Oulu Dance Hack in Chemnitz was an inspiring experience that showed how movement and technology can meet and enrich each other in a creative process.

Performers: Batul Al-Aidi, Duc Le, Greta Thole, Laura Waltz, Tanja Råman

Video: Fabian Thüroff

Music: Vincent Maurer

A project of the FUNKEN Academy of Klub Solitaer e.V. in cooperation with TaikaBox. Supported by: Chemnitz Capital of Culture 2025 gGmbh

The video shows the artists and researchers working together, as well as early works and artistic prototypes from the Summer School. The footage is accompanied by statements from the participating organisations and artists.

Like astronauts in full protective gear, the participants in the week-long workshop approach the hostile ideal environment of glass: ovens heated to 1400 degrees. Sunburn develops on carelessly uncovered areas of skin. The crucibles in the long tongs are heavy, the glass flows like honey over sand moulds. On the way back into the cold of the world, it stretches, cracks and splinters. With makeshift cooling ovens, they strain not only the material but also the university’s resources. Everyone still has a roast in the pipe somewhere, the cooling curves are at the limit, the fusing oven burns 800 degrees hotter than planned and the plasma torch whistles, until finally the pizza oven brings the participants and all the people from the Glass Institute and Thermal Engineering together.

SCHMELZE shows works by the artist collective Art Ashram of Klara Adam, Maja Nacke, Georg Scherlin, Daria Wartalska and Markus Zimmermann in an intervention in the Terra Mineralia Freiberg – Mineral Exhibition TU Bergakademie Freiberg. The work can currently be viewed at the Centre for Efficient High-Temperature Material Conversion at Winklerstrasse 5 in Freiberg on weekdays between 9 am and 5 pm

Created as part of Pop Up Science – a format organised by 4transfer. The series of events communicates scientific findings and research results to a wide audience. In its second edition, 4transfer is cooperating with the FUNKEN Academy of Klub Solitaer e.V.

Exhibition at Galerie Hinten, Chemnitz

Copyright: © Fraunhofer CPM / Sascha Linke.

Exhibition at smart³ Zukunftsimpulse – conference Schloss Albrechtsberg, Dresden

Copyright: © Fraunhofer CPM / smart³ / Sascha Linke.