[0] Introduction to the Matters

Stretching Materialities – Hidden Activities in Objects and Spaces

Stones weather over centuries. Clouds and microbes inhabit their own worlds at scales which are beyond the human senses. Plants store energy in their filaments, bend and move with winds and humidity. Combining interaction design, architecture, art history, computer science and anthropology, this exhibition stretches the disciplines in order to enter into sensuous resonance with the vibrant material world. »Stretching Materialities« is an open experimental platform engaging theory and practice.

As researchers and curators, we understand our role as caretakers and interpreters of the different life forms that inhabit this space. Experience the decay and transformation of rocks. Fly into a virtual stratosphere and dance with air molecules in the dampness of a physical cloud. Sense how material is guiding your body movements with the elastic energy accumulated by plants and woven structures. Touch a neuron with the tip of a stick.

Imagine you could stretch your senses to feel, see, hear and touch the material world beyond human sensory abilities. This experience might change the way you engage with your environment in the face of social, political, and ecological urgencies.