Here I came to the very edge, where nothing at all needs saying…Arnis Residency, Arnis, Germany

September-October 2022

Klar Zur Wende Ree

Otto Eberhardt Water Wharf

Here I came to the very edge, where nothing at all needs saying.. 2022, was an installation at the culmination of the Arnis Residency in Arnis, Germany, between September-October 2022.

In the group exhibition, Klar Zur Wende Ree, curated by Christian Lübbert, works from the residency artists Diogo Gama, Carl Gent, Gülşah Mursaloğlu and Jenny Steele were presented in the Otto Eberhardt Water Wharf.

Jenny created a series of woven works using techniques of passementerie (an endangered craft used to create trimmings for upholstery) with local plant life from the peninsula, predominantly rushes from the water’s edge. In combination with these plants, Jenny has used everyday textiles used in the coastal boating community, nautical ropes and webbing which tether the boats to the land. The textiles were installed upon a series of wooden stands from the local boat builder that are used to dry storage boats on land during the winter for protection. A series of plant tassels were also strung along a boat stored inside the wharf.

The work and its title, which comes from the poem, It Is Born, by Pablo Neruda, reflect on the impact on our wellbeing of being at the edge of, and within the water. Our ongoing experience of the sea is multi-sensory and spiritual; it holds timeless pull, memory and untold stories