Artist Lina Lapelytė's latest installation, "We Make Years Out of Hours," transforms Hamburger Bahnhof into a dynamic space for public participation. Featuring 400,000 wooden blocks, the exhibit invites visitors to engage in collective construction and explore themes of shared authorship and creative agency. This large-scale work, supported by Chanel, seamlessly integrates visual art with performance, offering a multi-sensory experience that highlights the power of community and artistic collaboration.
The exhibition also incorporates a series of weekly performances, enriching the spatial experience with a libretto crafted from the words of 15 diverse writers. These vocal compositions delve into profound human experiences such as love, loss, and the essence of community, resonating with the interactive nature of the wooden block installation. Through this fusion of art forms, Lapelytė creates an immersive environment that encourages reflection on our collective capacity to shape and redefine our shared reality, fostering a sense of connection and creative dialogue among participants.
Interacting with 'We Make Years Out of Hours'
Lina Lapelytė's monumental installation, "We Make Years Out of Hours," at Hamburger Bahnhof, invites visitors into a vast arena filled with 400,000 pine and spruce wooden blocks. This interactive art piece encourages the public to engage directly with the materials, building, dismantling, and reshaping structures. The work, sponsored by Chanel, transcends traditional exhibition formats, offering a hands-on experience that emphasizes collaboration and the continuous evolution of collective creation. Lapelytė's focus on shared authorship allows each participant to contribute to the evolving narrative of the installation, making every interaction a unique part of the artistic process and fostering a sense of collective ownership over the artwork.
The core concept behind this participatory work is to explore how individuals can collectively modify and redefine existing forms, reflecting Lapelytė's ongoing interest in communal making and the shared responsibility of caretaking. The 10-centimeter blocks, simple yet versatile, become tools for expression and connection, enabling visitors to transform the expansive space with their innovative structures. This fluid environment encourages dialogue, experimentation, and a deeper understanding of how collective effort can lead to meaningful change and the re-imagination of our physical surroundings. The continuous cycle of building and toppling symbolizes the transient nature of creation and the enduring impact of communal engagement.
Performance and Poetic Resonance
Adding another layer of depth to the installation, weekly performances on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays feature a libretto composed of texts from 15 distinguished writers. These literary contributions, including those from Ocean Vuong, Etel Adnan, Forugh Farrokhzad, and Mahmoud Darwish, weave narratives centered on universal themes of community, love, and loss. The vocal performances serve to complement the physical interaction with the wooden blocks, providing an auditory dimension that invites reflection on agency and hope within shared experiences. This integration of sound and performance enriches the exhibition, transforming it into a holistic artistic encounter that stimulates both visual and auditory senses.
The interplay between the tangible wooden structures and the evocative vocal performances creates a multi-faceted experience, prompting visitors to consider the broader implications of collective action and emotional connection. The libretto's themes resonate with the installation's emphasis on communal shaping, highlighting how shared narratives and personal stories contribute to our collective understanding of existence. By bringing together diverse voices and artistic mediums, Lapelytė's work encourages a profound engagement with art that extends beyond mere observation, fostering a dynamic environment where creation, reflection, and connection converge. The exhibition, running until January 10, 2027, promises an ongoing dialogue between art and audience.