Julia Lohmann (GB) + Gero Grundmann (GB)

Animism – The Tales of Matter

August 20th – August 26th 2017

The Workshop

Natural materials are imbued with lives of their own, with their own life stories. They tell tales of the earth, the wind, the water, and the sun. Of swarming and gathering, of predator and prey, resilience and respite, mimicry and motion, becoming and vanishing. They connect nature and culture, science and art, thinking and doing, the past with present and future, and the human maker with a sense of the non-human being the material once was.
We tune into the tales of matter and explore the interrelated web of beings that make up the eco-system of Boisbuchet. Then we try to make the voices of the materials perceptible by creating things and interventions that enable them to tell their own tales – in their own material voice.

"Rise up, trees of the forest, of avenues, gardens, parks, fruit trees, rise from the timber you
have brought forth, bring back to us your memory, tell us of your experiences, your
encounters and of the seasons. Lead us back into the forest, into the darkness, into the
shade, to the scent of the undergrowth, to the miraculous cathedral of trees. The idea, to
intrude in the intimate history of wood with a scalpel, one of sunny, rainy and festive days, of
meetings with insects, animals and other life forms, of accidents, abuses, carvings, incisions,
a history also written by the tender touch of other plants, can only be unfolded by thought
nestling up against matter."

Giuseppe Penone (in Materialästhetik, 2005 translated by Gero Grundmann)

Workshop Categories

Julia Lohmann United Kingdom

Julia Lohmann is a designer, researcher and educator, who investigates and critiques the ethical and material value systems underpinning our relationship with nature. She is a Professor of Contemporary Design Practices at Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland. Julia is passionate about eco-literacy and ocean protection. In 2013, she founded the Department of Seaweed, a transdisciplinary community of practice exploring the sustainable development of seaweed as a material for making. Julia Lohmann believes that any exploration of biomaterials needs to be based on amplifying their regenerative eco-systemic impact. In her practice and teaching she promotes an empathic, more than human-centric mindset and views design as a way of connecting knowing, caring and acting across disciplines and different levels of complexity. Julia is contributing to research consortia relating to design, biomaterials, science and ecology. She holds a PhD from the Royal College of Art and her work is part of major public and private collections worldwide.

www.julialohmann.co.uk

Gero Grundmann United Kingdom

Gero grew up drawing and wandering, hunting and gathering in a small town in the forests of Brothers Grimm country. He went to school atop a volcano and on the shores of Lake Ontario. In 1997, he left Germany to study, live and work in the United Kingdom. There, Gero founded the London-based studio for communication design, Studio Bec, and met his wife, the designer Julia Lohmann, with whom he also collaborates. He is interested in the field of design and craft, resilience and sustainability, inclusion and ethics. Gero has taught at a number of European design schools, has helped author an MA-level design curriculum, has written and led numerous degree and postgraduate-level workshops, and has mentored design students and practitioners in Europe and Asia. Gero holds an MA in communication art and design from the Royal College of Art and a diploma in translation from the Chartered Institute of Linguists. He is also an alumnus research associate of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. Gero still loves drawing and wandering, hunting and gathering.

www.gerogrundmann.com

Housing

  • Accommodation & food are included

  • We can accommodate for special catering

  • All participants sleep in dormitories

  • To book a private room or bring additional guests, get in touch: workshops@boisbuchet.org

Education

  • Our staff are available to help you conceptualize & produce your designs

  • Tools & materials are provided by Boisbuchet

  • All workshops are taught in English

  • The number of participants is limited to 22

Activities