LÄSUREN

Lesions are small damages, scratches, traces in the landscape. The collective ‘Urbane Dermatologie’ (Urban Dermatology) have created this new term in order to take an interdisciplinary look at lesions and wounds in the landscape in and around Bitterfeld. What was able to adapt, what was destroyed? What symbioses do fungi, bacteria and lichens form with human artifacts? What thrives in the resurrected ruins? For the OSTEN festival, biologist Moritz Mittelbach, artist Markus Mai and cultural scientist Jo Preußler have developed an audio tour through post-industrial traces and the echo chambers of ecological restoration. The aim is for participants to rediscover charged places where the collective, which calls itself “Urban Dermatology”, makes the hidden processes of pollution and renewal audible. From the decline of heavy metal pollution in the feathers of the urban pigeon to increased mercury and sulphur concentrations in poplar leaves and the increased occurrence of wasp gall apples, everything is relevant at first. Urban Dermatology’ relates these scientific findings to the stories of work in the region. The result is an exciting scavenger hunt through wasteland, landfills and factories.

For the opening of the festival, the artists created a huge map from various chalks on the forecourt of the Kulturpalast, which changed, blurred and finally disappeared completely over the course of the following days due to rain and abrasion.

The audio stations and hidden QR codes can still be found by attentive visitors to the city. Using a map, various stations can be visited and immersed in the exploration of the surface in short audio pieces.

You can listen to all the audio pieces here.