BETH COLLAR @ CC

53.468665, 14.582899

Nature is a living whole, not an accumulation of death

ALEXANDER HUMBOLDT

Dear Mother

It's very early in the morning. I can still hear the noise of yesterday's battle. I look at the field piled high with bodies. I have the impression that for the local plants and animals our battle was like a great volcanic eruption. Now they are putting in order what can be put in order after the outbreak of this exchange of forces. The earth will soon absorb human bodies. They will be layered in the newest geological formation, marking the incredible expansion of our species. I remember looking from the top of a great mountain Chimborazo in Ecuador, down to this cavernous vertical layer of vegetation that in a condensed form shows us the nature of the earth, in its diversity of all climatic zones, interwoven with an innumerable network of relations. From smaller lichens that enjoy a cold climate, growing on the higher elevation of the mountain, to fungi that penetrate hot soil and tropical vegetation. All of this, intertwined with the energy of Gaia, is a materialized life.

The ruins hidden underground is a record of our struggle for progress. It is also a record of what is no longer there. Bones of extinct species, forgotten cities, our beauty-loving bodies, the last shells.

Today the General gave the order. We will keep pushing on in this savage country. The wind of progress pushes us further and further into the very heart of truth.

Beth Collar is an artist who works and tries to live in Berlin. She was born in Cambridge, England in 1984. She works around and between sculpture and performance. Performances have taken place at Camden Arts Centre, London and Kunstverein Bamberg, 2020; Bob Shop, Berlin, 2019; Cafe Oto, London, Akademie Der Kunste Der Welt, Cologne 2017; Glasgow Women’s Library 2016; Nottingham Contemporary and Serpentine, London, 2015.
Her solo shows include 'Daddy Issues' at Dilston Grove commissioned by Matt's Gallery and Southwark Park Galleries and 'Retrogression' a collaborative exhibition with Eoghan Ryan at 427 in Riga, Latvia both 2019; Waldo @Mathew Gallery, New York, Matt’s Gallery, London, Primary, Nottingham all in 2018; at Standpoint, London in 2017 and at Fig2 at the ICA in London 2015.
Her recent group exhibitions have been at Regatta 2, Düsseldorf, Litost, Prague, 2020; A PLUS A, Venice, The Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, Kunsthal ved siden af, Svendborg, Denmark, Marlborough Contemporary, New York, Bärenzwinger, Berlin, 2019: Cell Project Space, London, 2018; Kunstverein München, 2017; and KW, Berlin, 2016.

Since 2015 she has been an associated artist with the charity Waterloo Uncovered who use archaeology and the structures surrounding it to help veterans with mental health injuries recover. She has a solo show at Stadium, Berlin opening on the 12th September.

http://www.bethcollar.co.uk/


	53.468665, 14.582899 Nature is a living whole, not an accumulation of death ALEXANDER HUMBOLDT Dear Mother It's very early in the morning. I can still hear the noise of yesterday's battle. I look at the field piled high with bodies. I have the impression that for the local plants and animals our battle was like a great volcanic eruption. Now they are putting in order what can be put in order after the outbreak of this exchange of forces. The earth will soon absorb human bodies. They will be layered in the newest geological formation, marking the incredible expansion of our species. I remember looking from the top of a great mountain Chimborazo in Ecuador, down to this cavernous vertical layer of vegetation that in a condensed form shows us the nature of the earth, in its diversity of all climatic zones, interwoven with an innumerable network of relations. From smaller lichens that enjoy a cold climate, growing on the higher elevation of the mountain, to fungi that penetrate hot soil and tropical vegetation. All of this, intertwined with the energy of Gaia, is a materialized life. The ruins hidden underground is a record of our struggle for progress. It is also a record of what is no longer there. Bones of extinct species, forgotten cities, our beauty-loving bodies, the last shells. Today the General gave the order. We will keep pushing on in this savage country. The wind of progress pushes us further and further into the very heart of truth. Beth Collar is an artist who works and tries to live in Berlin. She was born in Cambridge, England in 1984. She works around and between sculpture and performance. Performances have taken place at Camden Arts Centre, London and Kunstverein Bamberg, 2020; Bob Shop, Berlin, 2019; Cafe Oto, London, Akademie Der Kunste Der Welt, Cologne 2017; Glasgow Women’s Library 2016; Nottingham Contemporary and Serpentine, London, 2015. Her solo shows include 'Daddy Issues' at Dilston Grove commissioned by Matt's Gallery and Southwark Park Galleries and 'Retrogression' a collaborative exhibition with Eoghan Ryan at 427 in Riga, Latvia both 2019; Waldo @Mathew Gallery, New York, Matt’s Gallery, London, Primary, Nottingham all in 2018; at Standpoint, London in 2017 and at Fig2 at the ICA in London 2015. Her recent group exhibitions have been at Regatta 2, Düsseldorf, Litost, Prague, 2020; A PLUS A, Venice, The Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, Kunsthal ved siden af, Svendborg, Denmark, Marlborough Contemporary, New York, Bärenzwinger, Berlin, 2019: Cell Project Space, London, 2018; Kunstverein München, 2017; and KW, Berlin, 2016. Since 2015 she has been an associated artist with the charity Waterloo Uncovered who use archaeology and the structures surrounding it to help veterans with mental health injuries recover. She has a solo show at Stadium, Berlin opening on the 12th September. http://www.bethcollar.co.uk/ .