birkenwald by martin kippenberger at the temporary stedelijk

‘jetzt gehe ich in den birkenwald, denn meine pillen wirken bald’ (now I am going into the birch wood, my pills will soon start doing me good) installation by martin kippenberger , 1991 cardboard, plastic, offset prints, metal, wood collection estate martin kippenberger, galerie gisela capitain, cologne, germany installation image © designboom

martin kippenberger reconstructs a forest complete with over- size pharmaceuticals and branded pills to enhance the journey : ‘jetzt gehe ich in den birkenwald, denn meine pillen wirken bald’ / now I am going into the birch wood, my pills will soon start doing me good — unfortunately only the original, the german title reflects kippenberger’s play with language.

‘jetzt gehe ich in den birkenwald, denn meine pillen wirken bald’ installation by martin kippenberger installation image © designboom

‘birkenwald …’ was first produced as a room- size installation using the trunks of actual birch trees installed from floor to ceiling in his exhibition at galerie anders tornberg in lund, sweden, in 1990.

martin kippenberger pharmaceutical forest installation installation image © designboom

german artist martin kippenberger (1953 – 1997) typically produced alternative versions of many of his works, and presented here is the artificial and portable version using photographic replicas of the original birch trees, together with a selection of lanterns, which he began to produce in 1988 in the south of spain. twisted, bent, turned into a periscope and made split-legged, their anthropomorphic qualities can also be read as self-portraiture.

martin kippenberger pharmaceutical forest installation installation image © designboom

the temporary stedelijk at the stedelijk museum amsterdam august 28 , 2010 – january 9, 2011

martin kippenberger’s installation is part of the current exhibition ‘taking place’ at the temporary stedelijk (the stedelijk museum amsterdam). by addressing its history, the spatial and temporal conditions of the unfinished building and the ways in which artists use, occupy and animate museum spaces, ‘taking place’ shows works by local, national and international contemporary artists, who range from well-known and established figures to emerging artists.