Stinging nettles are inextricable from the urban landscape – yet they lead a niche existence.
We encounter them in their various facets: as medicinal herbs, as a nuisance, as fertilizer, as a form of crop protection, or as a tea.
Stinging nettles are fibrous plants. Their structure lends itself to fabrics that are simultaneously flexible and stable. Fibers can guide and protect; they are stretchy yet resilient. In the fiber lab, we will work through the practical steps from rhizome to harvest, from stem to fiber drill to thread.
Reto Pulfer
Plants play an important role in Reto Pulfer’s work. The artist disassembles stinging nettles into their constituent fibers and spins threads, then dyes fabric out of which cavernous installations, music, and performances emerge. In 2020, he published his second novel Gina, ein zuständiger Roman (Gina, A Responsible Novel; Bom Dia Books, in German) whose protagonist transforms into a kind of stinging nettle plant in a post-apocalyptic landscape.
Workshop for teenagers and adults.
The event will be held in German.
Please reserve your spot here: ifa-galerie-berlin@ifa.de
