6. & 7. february of 2021 through Mozilla Hubs

Conceived by Luise Flügge, student at the KHM, and Lisa Tschorn, student at the Kunstakademie Münster

In view of the steadily rising death toll worldwide and in Germany caused by the Corona pandemic, one’s own frustration, anger, grief – all these feelings that arose when an exhibition was cancelled again or even the exam could only be realised as a shadow of the actual performance – seemed presumptuous, yet these feelings were there and needed their space.

With the Mourning Time workshop, we offered students and alumni who had to take a silent exam due to the pandemic or who were unable to realise an important exhibition in the planned form a virtual space for shared mourning, exchange and comfort across the university. This was particularly about networking moments that were missing due to physical distance. Dr. Brigitte Kölle, Head of the Contemporary Art Collection at Kunsthalle Hamburg, spoke on the topic of mourning from a curatorial perspective and how she encounters it in an artistic context. In addition, the artist Annegret Schrader gave us an insight into her work as a grief counsellor and the dimensions and scope that grief takes on in our lives.

Luise Flügge reflected on the workshop in an interview with Lisa Tschorn:

Art and sadness in virtual space – A conversation with Lisa Tschorn

Virtual encounters – is that even possible? Like many people, I and my friend and colleague Lisa Tschorn were confronted with such questions in times of social distancing and lockdowns. Now that the lockdown measures have been behind us for a few months, we have taken the time to reflect together on our last workshop.

Mourning Time – attempting an encounter in virtual space

In February 2021, Lisa Tschorn and I took on the challenge of realizing our immersive online workshop called Mourning Time. With the funding from the Cheers for Fears network as part of the Traumformate program, we were able to put the concept into practice. The title Mourning Time arose from the peculiar time of the pandemic we found ourselves in. We were suddenly confronted with the grief of personal loss, but also the exceptional situation of no longer being able to pursue our usual exhibition activities as artists. At least not in the form we are used to. Exhibition venues were closed, performances and shows were canceled.

How should we deal with this stagnation? How can one even deal with loss? With these questions in mind, we set about creating the concept of the workshop as a platform for fellow students and colleagues to virtually mourn projects that could not be realized. In an online colloquium, we came together to share our feelings with others. The workshop has taken place in hubs.mozilla, which was challenging, but also opened up opportunities for unusual forms of presentation. We chose the platform as a venue because we wanted to create an experimental space outside of Zoom and team meetings. The virtual space was realized by Veronika Simmering, who supported us as an experienced 3D artist.

Participants and presentations in virtual space

Over two days, we listened to talks by grief counselor Annegret Schrader and curator Brigitte Kölle, got to know extraordinary students from all over NRW and were touched by the works and stories that these people brought us closer to in virtual space.

Luise Flügge: Dear Lisa, you realized the workshop with me. Would you like to introduce yourself in three sentences? Is that even possible for a versatile person like you?

Lisa Tschorn: I believe in the power of radical imagination to build and develop communities. I’m still trying to figure out what that could mean: My artistic practice includes installations, text works, in-person and online performances. My aim is to create spaces for encounters. The topics I focus on are the work environments¸ feminism, politics and society. My practice is not a solo practice, the core lies in networking and in creating work cooperatively.

LF: The workshop was very challenging for both of us, what did you find the biggest challenge? For me, it was definitely the unpredictability of our participants’ internet connection.

LT: To create a sense of connection that goes beyond the digital, we had prepared care packages with snacks and drinks for our participants. After the packing had taken a lot of time, my biggest challenge was driving packages with a borrowed shopping cart through a heavy rain shower and getting them to the post office just in time.

LF: Oh no, I had somehow forgotten about this logistical monster that we had thought about as part of the workshop. That is probably because you primarily dealt with the care packages. I think this is a part of Mourning Time that we will definitely approach differently in a similar workshop constellation.

You can also tell from the lapses in my memory that the workshop took place some time ago. How do you look at virtual spaces at the current time? Do you think the way we have been working has a future outside of the pandemic?

LT: While I’m thinking about this question, I’m sitting in a café in Manhattan right on Broadway. As a geographer, the thing that fascinates me about virtual spaces is that they enable a high degree of independence of location and thus the removal of access barriers of many different kinds. At the same time, for me there is definitely something that I vaguely describe as the magic of places and which can only be created to a limited extent using the forms of virtual communication known to date.

LF: Do you remember some online formats from the pandemic that you think were very enjoyable?

LT: Although I am happy with our experience with Mourning Time, I think there is still room for improvement: For me, memorability is a key point, many online events I have participated in blur in my memory. But it’s not much different from face-to-face meetings in everyday working life. Nevertheless, some online moments are still present. For me, the time of the pandemic coincided with my father’s serious cancer. Our meetings mainly took place online. A special memory for me is that we visited virtual exhibitions around the world together via Zoom, when even driving to the nearby city center was a big challenge for him.

LF: Which learning from the workshop has stayed with you to this day?

LT: The question of what it needs to create an encounter that touches me in such a way that I remember it for a long time is the most valuable learning experience I have had.

LF: Thank you for accompanying me during the pandemic. As a colleague and collaboration partner, you are a tremendous support for me. What projects are you currently planning and where will I be able to reach you on the phone again soon?

LT: Tomorrow I’m going back to Berlin, either you can reach me there or in Münster, where I’m attending a workshop on set design because I have several film projects coming up in the future.

Thank you for your answers, dear Lisa! I’ve also been informed that I can congratulate you on your debut as a wrestler at the 48 Stunden Neukölln festival! I look forward to the projects that you will realize in the future and hopefully also those that we might create together. You can also find out about your current projects at www.lisatschorn.eu.

As part of Mourning Time, we have also produced the publication “Mourning Time – Grief and Sadness in Virtual Space”, in which you can get to know our participants and their projects: