English
FROM I TO WE
From I to We / Vom Ich zun Wir
Ausstellung im Rahmen einer Residency, eingeladen von Sean O‘Reilly
September 2015
Sculpture Centre, Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim, Irland
‚From I to We’ war die dreimonatige Erforschung einer Landschaft menschlicher Verbundenheit und kollektiver Aktion der Einwohner*innen von Manorhamilton und Umgebung. Dem ruralen Westen Irlands. Susanne Bosch interessierte sich für die wachsende Stabilisierung der lokalen Gemeinschaften durch kollektives Handeln. Sie erkundete die Anerkennung gegenseitiger Bedingtheiten aufgrund dringender (sozialer, klimatischer, ökonomischer, selbstbestimmender) Notwendigkeiten sowie einer Überzeugung von Zusammenleben als „Lebenskunst“. Denn das Wort „Meitheal“ beschreibt die alte irische Tradition, in der sich Menschen in ländlichen Gemeinden versammelten, um einander zu helfen. In Reziprozität und als Team zu agieren schafft einen enormen Grad an Kameradschaft und Freundschaft. In ‚From I to We’ verwendete Susanne Bosch verschiedene Formate, um mit der Region und der Öffentlichkeit in Kontakt zu treten: Einer Serie von öffentlichen Gesprächen, kollektives Songwriting mit einem Video als Ergebnis sowie einem fiktiven Artikel in der Irish Times über die Zukunft des Ortes im Jahre 2025. Der Artikel benannte die Talente und Fachkenntnisse der Anwohner* innen sowie ihre Ideen und Visionen.
FROM I TO WE
‚From I to We‘ was a three-month exploration of a landscape of human connection and collective action of the people of Manorhamilton and the surrounding area, the rural west of Ireland. Susanne Bosch was interested in the growing stabilisation of local communities through collective action. She explored the recognition of mutual conditionality due to urgent (social, climatic, economic, self-determining) necessities and a conviction of living together as an „art of living“. For the word „Meitheal“ describes an ancient Irish tradition in which people in rural communities gathered to help each other. Acting in reciprocity and as a team creates a tremendous degree of camaraderie and friendship. Susanne Bosch used in ‚From I to We‘ different formats to engage with the region and the public: A series of public conversations, collective songwriting (resulting in a video), and a fictional article in the Irish Times about the future of the region reported from the year 2025. The article identified the talents and expertise of local residents, their ideas and visions.
Collective songwriting
The participatory project FROM I TO WE is based on the observation of significant local talents and expertise in music and poetry and a strong community spirit in form of celebration. It invited local people to voice the future of this place through a collective process of songwriting which will lead to the development of a collective song, over the coming year.
Bosch used empty shop windows in Manorhamilton in order to inform a wider public about the invitation to submit their song lines. In Prevision I, a person is facing an audience yet to attend, to witness her testimony, which is also yet to be written. The figure with a bare back is standing still and attentive towards the still empty space ahead of her. The soundtrack of the video is a male voice repeating „I remember, I care, I wish“. The video was projected in the gallery and onto the window space of the gallery where it was highly visible for passers-by on the street.
Conversations
From I to We invited on 11th-13th September to a series of conversations initiated by Susanne Bosch in collaboration with the Leitrim Sculpture Centre and fellow artists. The general themes for these conversations were common space, the liberation of ownership, the role of artists in the wider field. The second conversation dealt with experiences moving from I to We and the Do’s and Don’ts of Working Together. Finally the three artists-in-residence in LSC in Summer 2015 discussed their experience and learning as Citizen-Artists.
Bosch created a seating area out of up-cycled palettes in the gallery window. She offered the free space for further conversations as place to have meaningful conversations.
Conversations
FROM I TO WE – 2025, Prevision II
In the exhibition one finds the copy of an article published on 10th December 2025, announcing that Manorhamilton got awarded the Nobel Prize for a joint future viable Community Action. The article describes how the community developed the place and community. The article is based on visions and concrete ideas that local people shared with her in the last couple of weeks.
Year
2015
