Birds! Seeds! Sculptures!

During an artist residency in the community garden ATV Piccardthof in Groningen, Silke Riis developed a special recipe to sculpt bird seeds as a way to make sculptures in collaboration with the local bird community: She would make the initial sculptures, but the birds would reshape and alter them as they pecked away the seeds, becoming artists, too. Now she is bringing her method to Mediamatic’s bird community, and you are invited to learn it!

What you will do

Using branches as a sculpting base, you will create your own sculptural creations with bird seeds. We will go through the recipe step-by-step, each mixing our own portion and getting our hands dirty. Using this mixture you will design and decorate your own ornament(s) to be enjoyed by birds and humans alike! 

Since the material is a bit porous and the drying time is long, the pieces created in the workshop will be left at Mediamatic to dry and then get added to the trees surrounding the building. Attending this workshop therefore also means taking part in creating a communal sculpture at Mediamatic that you can come and revisit after the workshop. Each workshopper will get a printed edition of the recipe to take home, and is encouraged to use their new bird seed skills to enrich the lives of the birds in their own neighbourhood. 

About the artist

Silke Riis (she/her) is a sculptor and installation artist who works with speculating about the future and imagining new species. With her sculptures she hopes to reflect both the fragility of ecosystems and the resilience of nature, while offering alternative ideas for the future. She combines long-lasting materials, such as ceramics and steel, with ephemeral materials, and works experimentally with the aspect of transformation in her practice. Decay, mold, and unforeseen cracks are always welcomed, adding a sense of life (and death) to her pieces. She is originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, but currently based in Amsterdam.

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