Peter-Behrens-Bau

In his site-specific installation future_grid, Düsseldorf-based conceptual artist Mischa Kuball will stage selected fragments of large-scale industrial machines on the outdoor grounds of Peter-Behrens-Bau using light and sound. A projected light grid places the dysfunctional post-industrial artifacts in a free associative space in which visitors can explore new narratives of the future in dialogue with them – supported by an audio walk.

The silent material presence of the sculptural-looking contemporary witnesses behind the former warehouse of one of the region's largest steel producers continuously expands in Mischa Kuball’s work future_grid to include new information and contexts, questions, and narratives. In this process-oriented project, the artist transforms the museum into a dynamic repository of knowledge that sees itself as an energetic generator where preservation and research take place and new future visions can be generated.

The monumental light installation WATERLICHT symbolically shows the power of water. A virtual flood largely immerses the Peter Behrens Building in Oberhausen in blue light and at the same time raises awareness of rising water levels worldwide. In doing so, WATERLICHT questions how we as societies can deal with rising water levels of different origins in a local and global context.

In Oberhausen, the work is set in relation to the challenges of eternity: As a result of coal mining, the Ruhr region has sunk by up to 25 meters. Without the constant pumping of groundwater, large parts of the region would be flooded and a lake landscape of up to 90km in length would be created. Intensive research is being conducted not only into how the water can be extracted but how the heat of the water from underground can be used to generate energy.

The WATERLICHT podcast produced for FUTURE 21 tells such stories of the destructive as well as creative power of water.