C E L L

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Anywhere is a playground with IYTT at Svenska Mässan Introductory workshop during the first session for the newly formed International Youth Think Tank, at Svenska Mässan, Gothenburg.

The 30 international participants were introduced to our thoughts on Game / Play through two short writing exercises (in notebooks produced for the occasion) where they were to remember their school playground and then reflect on Why an Open Society (which was a part of the theme for the conference). After the writing we entered the area for the workshop.

600 wooden laths, painted in the 4 colors of the IYTT. 2000 cable ties Black markers.

2,5 hours

The participants were to write on the laths from prompts / questions given on site:

I am a person who…

What is in a name?

What is a border?

When I am on the inside…

If I was in charge, I would…

My heroes are…

Then the laths were to connected with cable ties in a collective structure within the defined space at Svenska Mässan during Kvalitetsmässan. The structure stayed on site during the IYTT conference.

For this workshop we drew from our previous work with wooden laths and text, connecting to the workshops Multiplayer structure 2011 and If you build a rainbow I will follow 2012.

To play is to believe.

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KONVERSEUM - Rum för möjliga samtal / Space for potential conversations

Exhibition at Rydal museum. We build a space consisting of three open structure wood work walls with a steel wire for hanging paper. Paper was A4 with either texts about conversations, or drawings from places of conversation. On the solid white wall was a plywood shelf holding the publication Rum för möjliga samtal that contained the images and texts from the space. In the center was a black dinner table with two chairs. The table had a ping-pong net plus pads and ball.The whole space was a possible contemplation on the mechanics and possibilities of conversation and its role in our everyday social landscape.

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Rum för möjliga samtal (Room for possible conversations) Catalog / publication for the exhibition KONVERSEUM 40 pages BW laser print on recycled paper 19 x 12 cm Edition: 200

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Sketches

Since 2006 Cell has met regularly (but not so often) to maintain an ongoing dialogue and work process. Sometimes these sessions have been directed towards specific goals, such as workshops, lectures and exhibitions. At other times they have been more genuinely explorative in character.

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The tower of babel (2014)

On a cold, but sunny, November morning, Cell organized a construction workshop for a group of daycare kids in the age of 3 to 5. The workshop was set up around laths, cable ties and a task of building together. The story of the tower of Babel was used as a starting point, after which the fifteen kids were divided into three groups. Each group worked with their own structure and then the groups merged together and extra laths were added. The group finished a tower, which turned into a playground. We finished the session with talking and drinking a cup of warm lemonade.

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If you build a rainbow, I will follow (2012)

We used this sentence as a start for an open workshop for five hours, all ages welcome. As part of the Bottna Culture Festival, we wanted to use the laths already used in two spaces, but also to introduce color. Starting from four different positions on land, the participants were asked to cooperate and build a rainbow that jointly landed on the golden egg placed a few meters out in the water. Once again, we were proven right that building is addictive – for the two girls at the age of eight, as well as for the man in his sixties that climbed the rainbow in order to build higher.

Video from the project.

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Two spaces (2012)

With the Land Art Pilot as a point of creative departure, we packed the car with camping gears, a couple of thousand cable ties and two new companions. Jonas Carlsson from Case Studio and Susanne Westerberg joined us for a new four-people collaboration. We made base-camp in the quarry and spent Friday building the inverted landscape at the outdoor gallery of KKV, searching for new forms and spatial expressions of the laths. The day after we turned to the quarry where we decided to refine the existing structure, taking down and re-building until sunset. Two hectic days ended with good discussions by the fire.

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Land Art Pilot (2011-12)

The project was part of Experimental Land Art Space. In the exhibition Bottna Land Art 2011 we built a wooden structure in an abandoned quarry. With its 3000 laths wrapping itself around the rock, the structure was clearly an addition to the site. Time and weather integrated the structure with the surrounding environment. The Third Landscape became the landscape. As a pilot project for Experimentyta Land Art, the site served as a platform for new interventions and events. We invited people with different experiences and skills, to add new stories to the ongoing narrative.

Coming back in October, the structure was now more a part of the surrounding space. It seemed more quiet and content. The site was obviously a different place.

Late January. Snow. The structure was still standing. The passing storms had blown right through. We passed the mic to actor Robert Bolin. He walked around and interpreted the texts, gently poking the structure to uncover the laths from the powdery snow.

April, afternoon at an inner city parking lot. Invited artist group De Luxe took us for a walk in between houses, ending in a semi-hidden yet very public urban alcove, overlooking the city and the water.  Squatting in dialogue with the third landscape, taking one of its core sentences – if I was in charge - as the point of departure. Unsolicited carpentry, as means to raise questions about the use of public space.

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The third landscape – dialogues in 1:1 (2011)

The project was part of Bottna Land Art and it consisted of 3000 wooden laths (180 cm, 25x25 mm) with words and sentences from the multiplayer structure, assembled together by 7 000 UV-resistant cable ties. The third landscape was a site-specific project that re-used material and placed it in a quarry outside Bovallstrand. It was a two-week collaborative building process, where we explored the possibilities of both the material itself but also of the dialogues emerging from the low-intensive work. The wooden laths and the cable ties were set in dialogue with the solid rock and the clearly defined spatial demarcation of the quarry.

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Multiplayer structure (2011)

Opening ceremony for cultural summer school (En kulturskola i rörelse, EKIR) in Gothenburg. It was a workshop for 370 participants in the age 12 to 18.

Material: 3000 wooden laths (length 180 cm, 25x25 mm), 8000 cable ties, sanding paper, black markers, words, field.

On arrival the participants were given 4 wooden laths, sanding paper, cable ties, a black marker and the beginning of four sentences:

I am a person who…

You are a person who…

If I was in charge…

When they are in charge…

The sentences were to be completed by the participants on the laths with the marker. No right or wrong, just thoughts, feelings, visions, and intentions. After writing, the laths were built to together with the cable ties to form a collaborative structure stretching out over the field. More laths and cable-ties were available to cater for further building. A scaffolding tower centred on the field provided possibilities for elevation and full sculpture overview. When the session was over, and the participants joined their respective workshops, we deconstructed, packed and removed the sculpture. Leaving the site as it was. The multiplayer structure was a time- and site-specific event.

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Double dice play (2010)

The backgammon double dice brings matter to an edge. It is a tool for accountability. Implementing the double dice creates a metacognitive level of play. It transfers the game from the board to the mind. To double is to believe. We use double-dicing outside the backgammon board in hope to understand more about the game in question and the dicing itself. Can anything be doubled?

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Word structure (2010)

Cell organized a workshop for ten teenagers, combining writing, reflection and building. We have to admit we were quite nervous to work with teenagers. Would they simply walk out on us? As a point of departure, we used a scaled-up version of the porous structure. We started with the participants writing directly on the wooden battens. We gave words to associate from and in less than thirty minutes, we had a nice heap of dreams, hopes and fears. They ran out of battens after 45 minutes. They did not walk out on us. On the contrary, they were a little disappointed we had not brought more material. Building is addictive.

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Porous structure (2009)

A sculptural process that combines low-intensity work with network theories, exploring the strength of weak ties. The structure consists of 4 000 disposable bamboo chop sticks, held together by UV-resistant cable ties. A sculptural experiment to investigate how complex networks emerge from simple building blocks, and how contextual change alters the narrative. The result was the porous structure, realized both as a sculpture and as a series of events. It was first exhibited at Gallery View and later moved to the forest outside Skene. We placed the structure in a glade by a small stream and in the following weeks mold blackened the sticks, spiders moved in and a little girl said it looked like Paris.

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Bubbles (2008)

Cell went downtown to blow bubbles as street musicians. A non-monetary intervention, exploring the aesthetic and playful values of bubbles in relation to a crowded shopping street. Can bubbles be offensive inside a shopping mall? Fascinating to contemplate whether our elusive bubbles could the disrupt the steady flow of weekend consumers.

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Ping Pong Royale (2006)

Ping Pong Royale (PPR) was the start of the cell collaboration. This was the beginning. PPR is a game of negotiated context-specific rules. We net office desks, conference tables and other netable surfaces to challenge conventional table space. In the spririt of James P. Carse, we explore the concepts of game and play.