Garden City of Tomorrow
Site-specific intervention
Arnis, 2019
"‘Garden Cities of Tomorrow’ emerges from architectural research based on the same-titled book. First published in 1898, its proposals for cities — allowing the benefits of rural and urban areas to thrive at the same place — were visionary. Inspired by a utopian novel, the book found great approval by the progressive artist community “Crystal Chain”, initiated by the architect Bruno Taut in 1919. Within a chain letter, also known as the ‘Utopian Correspondence’, they discussed ideas for building a society in which all people would live in equal conditions and work inspired by a common goal. Glass, which would allow architecture to dematerialise and dissolve with nature, was one of the most desired materials to correspond with this egalitarian society.
In Arnis, Yuri has not only been inspired by architectural theory and the fluidity with nature, but made both an intrinsic part of his work. His abstract architectural sculptures are made from shared and disposed materials — provided by the local community marking them as collective and altruistic efforts. Placing his pieces in a small wooden area, his compositions of human remnants are in contrast with the immediate natural environment. Their unpretentious installation bring forth the bare qualities of its composite materials, reminding us of their utopian association with equality and a common horizon. Producing his own book, the artist makes use of another minimalistic gesture to dissolve the boundaries between human-made and natural matter, allowing the paper of his pages to be drawn by water of the Schlei. Presented in an old dismantled ship cabin made of rough and heavy steal, Tuma further plays a sensory composition of everyday sounds from Arnis, turning them into another material towards the balance between human welfare and architectural hull."
Works produced during the Arnis Residency in Northern Germany.
In Arnis, Yuri has not only been inspired by architectural theory and the fluidity with nature, but made both an intrinsic part of his work. His abstract architectural sculptures are made from shared and disposed materials — provided by the local community marking them as collective and altruistic efforts. Placing his pieces in a small wooden area, his compositions of human remnants are in contrast with the immediate natural environment. Their unpretentious installation bring forth the bare qualities of its composite materials, reminding us of their utopian association with equality and a common horizon. Producing his own book, the artist makes use of another minimalistic gesture to dissolve the boundaries between human-made and natural matter, allowing the paper of his pages to be drawn by water of the Schlei. Presented in an old dismantled ship cabin made of rough and heavy steal, Tuma further plays a sensory composition of everyday sounds from Arnis, turning them into another material towards the balance between human welfare and architectural hull."
Works produced during the Arnis Residency in Northern Germany.