David Jablonowski’s hybrid sculpture is located directly next to the Emscher-Weg bike path in the Schüren district of Dortmund. In it, the artist, who grew up in Bochum, explores the history and future not only of this particular place, but of the entire Ruhr area as well. At the same time, he has created a contemporary monument that resembles a natural landmark and can be regarded as referring to the ecological improvements that have been made to Emscher River system.
In this multipart installation titled »Public Hybrid«, the artist combines the contrasting materials of sandstone and plastic. 3D printed elements made of recycled plastic and broken sandstone from the Ruhr region are stacked on top of each other like sediments. The resulting amorphous, artificial formations protrude out of the ground in a seemingly random fashion.
The sandstone comes from the nearby town of Sprockhövel. It was formed about 320 million years ago and is one of the most resistant types of sandstone in Germany. Unlike this raw material that has been used by humans for millennia, the use of recycled plastic elements produced by 3D printing provides a glimpse into a digital, green vision of the future. 3D printing, or additive manufacturing technology, is in principle based on data for computer-aided physical translation. Through 3D printing, Jablonowski implicitly refers to invisible infrastructures that are created by the digital data traffic of public communication. He also juxtaposes waste, which is a material that needs the help of digital technology to become a resource, with geological materials that are quarried in a traditional way. This innovation through the combination of new technologies, nature, and artistic interventions also reflects the project of a generation of restoring the Emscher River.
Beautiful from above: The works of art on the Emscherkunstweg can also be admired from the air.
Emscher-Weg, near Adelenstraße
44269 Dortmund Schüren
From Dortmund Hauptbahnhof take the U41 (direction Clarenberg U) or the RB59 (direction Soest Bahnhof) to the DO-Hörde Bahnhof stop, from there take bus 440 (direction Aplerbeck U) to the Adelenstrasse stop. Alternatively, from Dortmund Hauptbahnhof take the U47 (direction Aplerbeck U) to the Aplerbeck stop, from there take bus 440 (direction DO-Germania S) to the Adelenstrasse stop. From there it is approx. 400 m to the artwork on Emscher-Weg.
MATERIAL
Multi-part installation made of Ruhr sandstone, 3D printed from recycled plastic
The 3D prints were produced in a Dutch print shop, and the quarry stones were selected in the Sprockhövel quarry.
Together, the cooperation partners opened the work in November 2021: Dr. Vera Battis-Reese, Managing Director Kultur Ruhr GmbH; Marijke Lukowicz, Curator for the Emscherkunstweg at Urbane Künste Ruhr; Britta Peters, Artistic Director Urbane Künste Ruhr; Norbert Schilff, Mayor of Dortmund; David Jablonowski, Artist; Karola Geiß-Netthöfel, Regional Director Regionalverband Ruhr; Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen, Minister for Culture and Science of the State of Nordrhein-Westfalen and Prof. Dr. Ulrich Paetzel, chairman of the Emschergenossenschaft (l.t.r.).
