“When I watch young children exploring their world, all senses are open: eyes, ears, mouth, and little hands touching anything that comes along— trustfully, without judgment, without experience and without comparison. I am fascinated by this exploratory way of making an understanding of the world, so my concept for a permanent art project in a kindergarten was to create a resonance with this sensually open phase of life.” Iris Häussler
In collaboration with architect Peter Ottmann, the Bauhütte Hasenbergl and Junge Arbeit youth training programs, Häussler’s public art project comprised 22 concrete relief casts that were integrated into the building of a new Kindergarten in the Hasenbergl district on the Northern edge of Munich, Germany. Each concrete cast was installed at a height accessible to children’s hands. Daycare staff and family members were invited to take part in the process by contributing common objects such as tools and children’s toys that could be used to cast unique shapes and surface textures. The artist developed a special technique for casting concrete reliefs that would hold the characteristics of each object. While most imprints produced shapes recognizable to children, others appeared more abstract and open for curiosity and tactile exploration.
Location: Kindergarten, Aschenbrennerstrasse, Munich, Germany
Commissions body: Landeshauptstadt München, Baureferat, Friedensstr. 40 , 82671 München, Germany