In September, Michael Höpfner traveled to Romania for an art-walking trip in Făgăraș Mountains, as part of his artistic practice dedicated to landscape. After a few days spent in Șona village, at the house reserved for artistic residencies organised by Ștefan Câlția Foundation, he walked towards Moldoveanu peak.
He always goes on these walking trips alone, and this time, the isolation was even more powerful given the unexpectancies of nature.
There is a fascinating moment in a snowstorm, where my mind looses it's connection to the earth. No proportions, no notion of distance, no idea of being. And no sense of gravity. I see a person slowly coming closer. I realize it's a small rock. Nature is playing tricks on my perception. I retrace my own steps to reach a rock with a way-marker. Holding on to it. After hours reaching the Bivouac hut, I trace and re-trace my own steps for four days. On day seven it's safe enough to leave the mountain.
There is a fascinating moment in a snowstorm, where my mind looses it's connection to the earth. No proportions, no notion of distance, no idea of being. And no sense of gravity. I see a person slowly coming closer. I realize it's a small rock. Nature is playing tricks on my perception. I retrace my own steps to reach a rock with a way-marker. Holding on to it. After hours reaching the Bivouac hut, I trace and re-trace my own steps for four days. On day seven it's safe enough to leave the mountain.
Not so long after the walk, Höpfner is back in Bucharest to share his working process and how, each step, each path walked, adds to the need of experimenting the landscape in order to make it part of his artistic practice.
Alongside Michael Höpfner’s trip, within the research project organised by Galeria Posibilă during this year, we had a series of discussions and learning sessions with artists, curators, art historians, and ecologists, for a deeper understanding of practices built around the need of experiencing landscape.
Michael Höpfner (b. 1972) is a visual and walking artist. His artistic research starts with a walk, documenting through photographs, drawings and installations his journeys on foot to remote spaces and unfamiliar territories of Eastern Europe and Asia.
We would like to thank our partners, Galeria posibilă for organising this event.
Foto: Didi Elena
