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landscape diplomacy - onyx marble meteorite
sculptural question 61/108
by Thomas Stricker

An art in public space project by Thomas Stricker
for residence of the German Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan

On behalf of
Bundesministerium für Bauwesen und Raumordnung, Bonn, Germany

people involved in the project

Humaira Naeem, Mediator, Düsseldorf, Germany
Airport Taxi Driver, Islamabad
Manzoor Ahmade, Saw Master SK Stones, Karachi
Muhammad Jawaid, Head of Administration SK Stones, Karachi
Muhammad Zahoor, Production Manager SK Stones, Karachi
Security Guard, Diplomatic Enclave, Islamabad
Liaquat Ali Khan, Gardener at the German Embassy, Islamabad
Ehsan Ullah, Gardener at the German Embassy, Islamabad
Shakeel Ur Rehman, Gardener at the German Embassy, Islamabad
Khatab Makandad, Gardener at the German Embassy, Islamabad
Wajahat Ali, Architect and Restorer, Fort Lahore
Tahneet and Kunsha Naeem, Family Hosts, Multan
Stonemason, SK Stones, Karachi
Mr Naeem, Irfan's father, Entrepreneur Lahore
Sobia Salman, Restorer Fort, Lahore
Worker in Irfan's Alfa Salt Team, Lahore
Fakhir Uddin, Restorer Fort, Lahore
Zobia Tanveer, Restorer, Fort Lahore
Family Member of Kaleem Rehman, Lahore
Mr Pervaiz, Stonemason, Lahore
Nadir Baloch Boxer, Balochistan Guide, Karachi
Kaleem Rehman, Roadtrip Driver, Lahore
Sunday Walk Guide, Arabian Sea, Karachi
Habib Ullah, Balochistan Guide, Karachi
Mohammed Ali Nawaz Stonemason, Karachi
Altaf Hussain, Stonemason, Karachi
Shafiq Suleman, Balochistan Guide, Karachi
Bilal Quayyum Taxi Driver, Karachi
Touseef Ahmad Truck Driver, Karachi
Waheed Khan Truck Driver, Karachi
Crane Operator Wazier Crane Services, Islamabad
Worker Qavi Engineers, Islamabad
Wasim Ullah Manager Wazier Crane Services, Islamabad
Anna Emanuel Photographer German Embassy, Islamabad
Production Team at SK Stones, Karachi
Security Guard SK Stones, Karachi
Thomas Stricker Artist, Duesseldorf
image of onyx marble meteorite
image of onyx marble meteorite
image of onyx marble meteorite
detail of onyx marble meteorite
detail of onyx marble meteorite
image of onyx marble meteorite
image of onyx marble meteorite
image of onyx marble meteorite
image of onyx marble meteorite
image of onyx marble meteorite

Thomas Stricker

„The only thing I brought with me to Pakistan was my idea. In order to turn this idea into reality, I needed a team who could help me. But first of all I had to look for this famous natural stone. The dark green onyx. I had to visit the place where it is quarried.“

„An important part of my concept was to shape a falling star in collaboration with Pakistani stonemasons. Combining our respective imaginations to carve a terrestrial meteorite out of a raw onyx block.“

„Getting involved with unknown people from foreign cultures in a country that was completely new to me, was part of my concept.“

„To consciously place myself in a position of dependency on the other.“

Basic idea

The aim of the artistic conception is to show interest in others and respect for differences through the realization of the sculptural work in the host country and the associated encounter with the country and the people in all their diversity. Really entering the landscape, physically engaging with all the special features and the extensive search for the raw material and the interdisciplinary production becomes part of the sculpture.

A sculptural investigation through a wide variety of artistic approaches, across the vast expanse of the landscape and into the depths of Pakistani society.

Concept

The sculpture, made from Pakistani onyx marble in interdisciplinary collaboration in Pakistan, lands gently in the subtropical garden of the embassy residence in the form of an intercultural imagination of a terrestrial meteorite. The base of the sculpture is not a crater but rather its own creation story, which can also be viewed as a film inside the residence. This idiosyncratic material and form-finding process is told in a deeply subjective artistic way and speaks of landscape, travel, skills and openness towards strangers.

Thomas Stricker

„The only thing I brought with me to Pakistan was my idea. In order to turn this idea into reality, I needed a team who could help me. But first of all I had to look for this famous natural stone. The dark green onyx. I had to visit the place where it is quarried.“

„An important part of my concept was to shape a falling star in collaboration with Pakistani stonemasons. Combining our respective imaginations to carve a terrestrial meteorite out of a raw onyx block.“

„Getting involved with unknown people from foreign cultures in a country that was completely new to me, was part of my concept.“

„To consciously place myself in a position of dependency on the other.“

Basic ideas

The aim of the artistic conception is to show interest in others and respect for differences through the realization of the sculptural work in the host country and the associated encounter with the country and the people in all their diversity. Really entering the landscape, physically engaging with all the special features and the extensive search for the raw material and the interdisciplinary production becomes part of the sculpture.

A sculptural investigation through a wide variety of artistic approaches, across the vast expanse of the landscape and into the depths of Pakistani society.
‍

Concept

The sculpture, made from Pakistani onyx marble in interdisciplinary collaboration in Pakistan, lands gently in the subtropical garden of the embassy residence in the form of an intercultural imagination of a terrestrial meteorite. The base of the sculpture is not a crater but rather its own creation story, which can also be viewed as a film inside the residence. This idiosyncratic material and form-finding process is told in a deeply subjective artistic way and speaks of landscape, travel, skills and openness towards strangers.

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