From a Dream to a Project: The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar Kreativfonds
Caroline Ektander, born in Sweden in 1982, has been living in Berlin and working as a curator and architect for over ten years. Her work deals with the complex conditions of environmentally hazardous substances, poisons and toxins. She is currently working on her doctorate at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in the Faculty of Art and Design, focussing on the restoration of contaminated sites in Bitterfeld-Wolfen. In addition to this, she will be artistically exploring the contaminated ground water at the chemical site through support from the university’s Kreativfonds. Science editor Stephanie Waske asked Ektander about the context of this unusual research field.
Episode 2: The Invisible Dangers of Toxic Water in Bitterfeld-Wolfen
Ms. Ektander, you have been artistically concerned with toxicity, or poisonousness, for many years. How did this come about?
I studied architecture in Sweden and then moved to China, where I lived for three years. I worked at the Olympia Forum in China, where I worked on numerous buildings: Residential buildings, major shopping centres - and all which were realised from design to construction within half a year. I was incredibly impressed by how quickly everything moved, but disappointed that it was not thought out in a sustainable way. When I returned to Sweden, I didn’t have the desire to build anymore. I got in tough right away with Stockholm’s municipal waste department and asked if they needed input on how to deal with waste.
And why waste?
I have always been interested in what you don’t see, what disappears — but doesn’t really disappear and is actually buried in the ground. This invisibility phenomenon has haunted me since 2008. My exploration refined itself both theoretically and practically. My studies in architecture were very artistic and I was always working on art projects. I found my way back to art through the topic of waste and I read a lot of scientific literature on the subject.
And what did you do exactly at Stockholm’s municipal waste department?
I worked there as a consultant for five years and worked on several projects. I then started design processes by planning recycling centres. We established new processes linking urban planning and the waste sector, attempting to bring technical knowledge together with spatial design and strategic knowledge. We designed, for example, design stations for dropping off hazardous waste, bringing it out of the shadows and into the middle of life. The socio-cultural aspect of making such things visible has been a big part of my work so far.
You wrote your dissertation at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in the Faculty of Art and Design on combining art and the clean-up of old waste — most would put these two things together...Why do you feel this is important?
I’ve always had to deal with hard-to-solve problems. Formulating and reformulating problems to come up with new solutions. Toxicity in particular, the leftovers from big industries, is wrought with issues. This isn’t just because the materials have to be recovered from the ground, but also because of the social and spiritual issues that need to be dealt with. I have found that art as a discipline is an open space. Art is creating and remaking. This is especially true in artistic research, the field in which I am doing my doctorate, where you develop new methods.
You selected Bitterfeld-Wolfen as a case study. Why here? Were you familiar with the location beforehand?
That was coincidental. Up until two years ago, I didn’t know anything about Bitterfeld. I worked with an artist and an environmental historian for some time on landfills in Brandenburg; this got me very interested in East-West history. In Brandenburg, there was a reference made to Bitterfeld and that’s when my research began.
Anyone interested in the region and history of the chemical industry will inevitably have come across the film »Bitteres aus Bitterfeld«. The film was made in 1988 by East Berlin activists, West Berlin filmmakers and environmentalists. Chemical barrels lying open on landfills are shown on screen. I’m sure you know the film.
Yes, of course. I’ve watched a number of such contemporary documentaries. I find this part of Bitterfeld’s history, this big negative picture painted by the media, to be one-sided and rather appalling. There’s also the story of actress and environmental activist Jane Fonda, who stood and cried at Silbersee, a pit filled with stinking waste from the Bitterfeld-Wolfen chemical industry. So many stories like these made Bitterfeld famous and the scapegoat of environmental damage. But at the same time, similar stories unfold everywhere. There was a feature just the other day that compared Bitterfeld with an industrial town on the outskirts of Cologne. It’s the same story there.
What were your first impressions when you went to Bitterfeld-Wolfen?
It was a huge contrast to what I had seen on the internet while doing my research; Bitterfeld-Wolfen looks just like any other touristy place with blue water and blue skies. Thirty years ago, however, the air was so smoggy and yellow — this is unimaginable when you visit Bitterfeld today. I worked on a project with Professor Alexandra Toland on the fly ash, which is no longer present in the air, but has been absorbed into the soil and plants. We developed pigments from the plants and flowers to make the fly ask visible again. It’s not something that just disappears, despite what the clear skies might suggest.
During the OSTEN Festival in Bitterfeld-Wolfen in July, you cooked with artist Stephan Thierbach for the »Der Schweiß der Erde« (sweat of the earth) project. What can you tell us about this?
This was a project that I began working on in 2019. Thierbach cooked dirt on site during an exhibition that I curated. This is something we hope to continue to develop as a strategy. Through the dirt’s chemical transformation while being cooked, it becomes something different and transforms into something like a campfire; you sit around a big barrel and the earth cooks and emits a scent. So we used this method to start a conversation with various people – like in Wolfen-Nord, where over 13,000 worker’s flats, or »Plattenbauten« were built during the 1960s in the GDR. Following reunification, buildings like these often stood empty and some were demolished. We cooked some of the dirt from the areas where »Plattenbauten« had once stood. It was quite striking; we sat around talking about smell and memory. The people from Bitterfeld told us about the location, what it used to look like and where children used to play. A lively discussion about the past, present and future unfolded very quickly.
And what did the dirt smell like?
It had a sweet, nutty, earthy smell. The dirt had a specific smell that stirred up so many associations — an old barn or an underground car park.
But you first had to make sure that cooking the dirt was safe in terms of chemicals?
Exactly. There is always a risk. That’s the problem with toxicity. You look for a specific substance — it’s impossible to test the general toxicity of soil. It’s always necessary to understand it within the context of its history. For example, was the DDT poison produced at the site where you took the soil from? This is why we decided against Spittelwasser, a small river into which waste and chemicals have been dumped. We determined that the dirt from there is too dangerous to cook.
Keyword water: Your upcoming project in Bitterfeld is set to address the contaminated groundwater there and is receiving support from the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar Kreativfonds. What can you tell us about your plans?
I worked on a project about the sky with Prof. Toland called »Himmel im Boden«. This was followed by the »Schweiß der Erde« project. Now it’s groundwater’s turn. This is something that deeply connects us. But it’s a really difficult concept to understand, so I want to work with sound. In order to do this, I established a collaboration with acoustic engineer and artist Max Schneider from the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig. Our plan is to cooperate on site with remediation scientists, the »Unteren Bodenschutzbehörde« and the »Mitteldeutschen Sanierungs- und Entsorgungsgesellschaft«.
Some type of medium is always necessary for hearing. In Bitterfeld, there is a huge number of pumps sunk deep into the ground. We want to try to capture the sound of water through these pumps. The first step is, through the support of the Kreativfonds, to collect these sounds. This will be integrated into another collaborative project with other artists in other countries who are dealing with the same problem — toxicity in water.
Are these projects also based on the topic of sound?
Yes. We want to create radio plays about Mexico City and its sewage problems, heavy metals in southern China and in the Chicago River, featuring the histories of the local steel industries. We want to make these issues understandable for people, to inspire an examination of history and start a conversation through the medium of radio plays. We’ve become used to images of catastrophes, but with water poisoning, it doesn’t look like a catastrophe because we can’t see it.
And this is where Bitterfeld comes in?
Exactly. I’m trying to bring a new understanding to groundwater issues through audio. The recordings pose a technical and financial challenge, which is why I applied for support from the Kreativfonds.
When do you plan to be on site to capture the sounds?
We, Max Schneider and I, are aiming to do this in early September.
I’ve read that you are also planning to carry out eyewitness interviews. Will these be used in combination with your sound recordings?
I’m not quite sure of the direction in which the project will develop. I think that if it goes in the direction of radio plays, this can be combined well. Thanks to funding from the »Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau« and the »Kulturpark e.V.«, Stephan Thierbach and I been able to have several in-depth conversations with contemporary witnesses, which will definitely find their way into my work. But I have to find and capture the sound first.
In Bitterfeld-Wolfen, pumps suck huge volumes of water out of the subsoil — not only in open landfill spaces, but also in private individuals’ basements. So what is this about?
The pumps are how people can live there. Their lives depend on the water level. If contaminated water reaches the surface, toxic gases form. There is a location where too much water flows in, and so a wall had to be built around the community to keep the water out. The groundwater there is black due to the combination of brown coal and chemicals. Because the coal pit was dug too deep, the upper groundwater has been contaminated by the deeper groundwater flow. The ground is like Swiss cheese. The deep groundwater can spread quite far. The technology to build walls deep enough to prevent this simply does not exist. We also don’t know what materials could even be used to build such walls because some of the chemicals present eat away at cement. It’s an incredibly big challenge. I don’t have anything against technical solutions, I just think that we are missing out if we approach the issue in a one-sided way as a technical problem.
What are the other aspects to be considered?
Sociocultural factors. There is, for example, an increase in right-wing radicalism in Bitterfeld-Wolfen. We need to ask ourselves: What is the history of this place? How have these histories been disrupted? How does this relate to the industrial scene? After the Wall fell, a great number of things were called into question. Some have managed to adjust very well. Others have not. The environment always has an effect on the interpersonal. From this perspective, artistic research provides a space to re-examine and look at connections that might not be immediately visible, without simplifying history.
About the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar Kreativfonds
Shooting a short film, exhibiting a photo series, designing a new product — creative minds are always coming up with exciting new ideas. But what can they do if they don’t have the funds? For nearly 15 years, the answer to this has been the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar: It’s worth it to apply to the Kreativfonds! Professors, scientific employees, doctoral candidates and students from all faculties can apply for funding twice a year.
Who can receive support?
Artistic and creative projects with no set format. The determining factors are an innovative idea and a plan to realise it. Funding conditions and additional information can be found in the Guidelines and FAQs.
Find out more on the Kreativfonds here:
Projects from 10 years of Kreativfonds:
For information on Kreativfonds, contact Kristina Hellmann, Research Operations Office, by telephone +49 (0) 36 43 / 58 25 39 or per E-mail at kristina.hellmann[at]uni-weimar.de
For questions about this article, contact Scientific Editor Dr. Stefanie Waske via e-mail stefanie.waske[at]uni-weimar.de or phone +49 (0) 36 43 / 58 11 24.