COME CLOSER - Artist Talk #4

In the fourth Artist Talk, Sara Weyns, director of the Middelheimmuseum, engages in conversation with Paul Kindersley, Ula Sickle, and Sarah & Charles. In their artworks, they each explore, in their own way, the evolving role of sculpture and performance in creating collective experiences within the museum context.

A recurring motif is the exploration of characters and stories within the museum’s collection. In The Dreamer of the Forest, Paul Kindersley embodies various artworks from the collection. Ula Sickle has performers hold a black flag high in Relay. Sarah & Charles invite you to take the stage yourself in Puppetry & Puppets.

These artists dive into the performative potential of the objects in the collection. By reinterpreting these artworks through performances, they invite the audience to actively engage with the stories of the museum and the park.

They also question the relationship between individual and collective action. Kindersley tells the same story in changing collaborative settings. Sickle explores the collective responsibility in waving flags. With Sarah & Charles, the audience chooses the stories they want to tell.

The artworks highlight the power of collective engagement in shaping social narratives. The audience is no longer a passive spectator but becomes an active participant. Boundaries blur between creator and viewer. They also challenge traditional ways of presenting and experiencing art in a museum. The artworks are not static and unchanging: performers and the audience play an essential role in giving them meaning.

You can listen to the full recording below.

This is the last of four Artist Talks in the context of COME CLOSER (07.06 - 29.09.2024). It took place on 31.08.2024 in the Braem Pavilion (Middelheim Museum).

• Artists: Paul Kindersley, Ula Sickle, and Sarah & Charles
• Moderator: Sara Weyns