Roseland: Artist Plants Roses in Germany

Hans Marter published this piece about Roseland in Düsseldorf on Tuesday, 29 August 2006 in the Shetland News. http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/pages/latest_news.htm

SHETLAND-based artist Roxane Permar has been exhibiting her work during a massive art festival in the German city of Düsseldorf, during the last two weekends.

The festival Kunstpunkte, which is in its 10th year, celebrates art at 300 different locations across the city of half a million people.

Ms Permar's presence in the Kunstpunkte festival is part of a two month residence in the city, where she is the guest artist of the county of North Rhine Westfalia and the city of Düsseldorf.

Her time in Düsseldorf will culminate in an installation in the Jacobigarten park, on 26 September, centred on her present work called Roseland. The "sculptural object" will stay on site until the first frost.

Ms Permar will also give a presentation during the monthly meeting of the city's oldest artists' group called Malkasten.

Speaking from Düsseldorf yesterday (Monday) she said more than 250 visitors had taken part in her 'open studio' during the weekend, where they were invited to write Roseland postcards and had the opportunity to make roses.

She said her main objective was to develop ways of engaging the audience and initiating exchange among them.

She said: "In my studio I made three Roseland "workstations" where people could take part in Roseland exchanges.

"The first was the Roseland Postcard Exchange, the second was the Roseland Seed Exchange and the third was the opportunity to make roses.

"Everyone who made a rose, placed it in the 'rose garden' in my studio and left their address. I will send them an invitation to the event at Malkasten, where they will be able to come and find (or seek) their rose to take home."

Ms Permar has been working on her Roseland project for some time now with installations at the Bonhoga Gallery, in Shetland, in May and June this year, as well as in Roydon, on the outskirts of London, on two weekends in June and July.