Full-bodied (hum)

Full-bodied (hum) is Gwenneth Boelens’s latest exhibition at Klemm’s in Berlin, Germany, in collaboration with curator Eloise Sweetman. Running from 18 June to 20 August 2022, the exhibition transforms the gallery space into a corporeal entity, using the building as a musical instrument. Inspired by Ayurvedic medicine and her embodied art-making experiences, Boelens crafts new pieces from materials like brass, flax, clay, and copper. In line with feminist minimalist sculpture traditions, Boelens’ works take on forms—thyroid, vessel, neck, drum, shell, shield, cymbal, nervous system—that suggest how these shapes envelop what is vital for bodily sustenance, maintaining fluidity and breath.

The exhibition captures the breadth of Boelens’ practice, integrating older works into newer creations: woven pieces become contact c-prints, newspaper spears transform into shields or shells, and leftover clay is repurposed into new vessels. This approach not only reflects the artist’s sense of time but also creates a resonance akin to the body’s rhythm.

Full-bodied (hum) unfolds gradually, echoing their shared preference for the evolving exposure of artistic experiences over time. Boelens and Sweetman’s collaboration follows their 2020 project, This Dusk Song, held at Treignac Project in France. At Klemm’s, Boelens presents a new iteration of a work from Treignac Project, titled This Dusk Song (subtle body). This large-scale installation incorporates electro-conductive and reflective threads, weaving through rollers, spindles, and pulleys reclaimed from a disused textile factory. Much like a song and a growing corpus, the artwork mirrors Boelens’ delicate, expansive, and sensual artistic expression.