German artist Cornelia Konrads has created a site-specific installation using old broken walls of a Mongolian traditional house “ger” and placed it among the rocky hills located in the northwest side of Deren Sum during the Nomad Spirit International Program held in Deren Soum of Dundgovi Province from September 21 to October 2, 2024. Deeply intrigued with the traditional nomadic lifestyle, particularly shapes and structures of “ger”, Cornelia developed an interest in using its elements for her installation, already before coming to Mongolia. With the help of local team Cornelia managed collecting old broken walls of traditional “ger” and constructed cone-like shaped structures with the help of Mongolian artist Munkhdorj Batdelger. Cornelia says, “The walls of a ger are strong but also flexible, like Mongolians, so these sculptures are resemblance of Mongolians for me.”
Born 1957 in Wuppertal, Germany, Cornelia studied philosophy and cultural science. She is practicing art since 1998, focusing on site specific sculpture and installation. Cornelia created permanent and temporary works for public spaces, sculpture parks and private collections, participating in sculpture and land art projects in Europe, Asia, Australia, America, and Africa. Since 1998, she has been carrying out various projects abroad, particularly in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Austria, France, Germany, India, Norway, Brazil, South Korea, Taïwan and Japan.
Between nature and culture, Cornelia Konrads’ works are always in dialogue with the place that hosts them, its architecture, topography, flora and history. She is inspired by forms present in the landscape, divert them and reveal their poetic, comic or mysterious aspect. Her in situ installations, permanent or ephemeral, aim to create unstable moments, spaces of uncertainty close to catastrophe, that humorously defy the laws of gravity and construction. (Nadege Lecuyer 2023)
Funded by EUNIC, the Nomad Spirit – International Program was initiated by EUNIC Mongolia and its implementing members, the Alliance Française Oulan-Bator, the Austrian Embassy in Beijing, the Finnish Embassy in Beijing, and the Goethe-Institut Mongolia with the support of the EU Delegation to Mongolia with aim to raise public awareness of climate change through contemporary artistic practices, the program brought together over 260 participants, including 8 artists from 5 different countries, as well as local schoolchildren, residents, administrators, and visitors from Ulaanbaatar. The program was implemented by the Mongolian Contemporary Art Support Association and its affiliate Nomadic Red Corner International Residency and Deren Soum administration and secondary school.
*EUNIC — European Union National Institutes for Culture — is Europe’s network of national cultural institutes and organisations, with 39 members from all EU member states and associated countries. EUNIC Mongolia aims to develop strong and sustainable ties between cultural stakeholders in the European Union and Mongolia by engaging in activities that are driven by the global challenges we have to respond to together.
