Franziska Fennert is a German artist, born in the former socialist East Germany, who has been living in Indonesia since 2013. She primarily works with sewn objects and paintings, seeking healing from her Wendetrauma (German Reunification). The takeover of the former GDR by the Federal Republic of Germany deeply shook her family and indirectly led to the death of her father years later. Her stay in Indonesia enables her to reflect on a value system other than capitalism and to search for spiritual roots. Through her work, she aims to understand human behavior, economic constructs, and social structures in a global context.
Read MoreSince participating in the Nature Art Residency in Tsukuba, Japan, in 2018, Fennert views the emancipated environment as a necessary part of a progressive social system. Joining the Indonesian Upcycle Forum the following year, she investigates circular economy and Javanese spirituality as an alternative to capitalism (linear economy).
In 2020, Fennert initiated the construction of a temple made of plastic scraps melted into stones next to the Piyungan garbage dump in Yogyakarta, which then collectively evolved into Monumen Antroposen. The goal is to transform global society in terms of a social and ecologically oriented circular economy that honors the respective ancestors of a geographical regioncountry/place.
Fennert graduated as a master student at the Dresden University of Fine Arts in 2011 with the state scholarship of the Free State of Saxony. Four years earlier, the solo exhibition "Everything is Rites/Semua adalah Upacara" at Museum Affandi, Yogyakarta, was the culmination of her Darmasiswa Fellowship.
As the chair of the German-Asian association cover E.V. from 2012-13, she organized international exhibitions in Dresden and Shanghai. For the occasion of the project in public space "Vision of a Social Evolution," sponsored by Lawangwangi, Artsociates Bandung, and the German Foreign Office, she moved back to her chosen home, Indonesia.
Text courtesy The Columns Gallery.
