Lens-based Performance and large-scale, ephemeral drawing.
2023, Moonlandscape, Namib Desert, Namibia

Performance and concept: Imke Rust
Video and Audio: Steffen Holzkamp

While we feel the wind, we are seldom aware of its true power, and even less of the lines it draws, the swirls, loops and beautiful flows. Unlike water, it is not bound by gravity and can move in all directions. To make this visible, I used a large sheet of gold foil.

As a young adult I started paragliding and loved it. I used to feel more at home in the air, than on the ground. I am deeply aware and connected to the wind – its power, its direction and its turbulences and nuances. I did not weigh much in those days and was too light for the smallest paraglider I could buy. One day a sudden gust picked me up, blew me behind the dune and offered me to the turbulences and they eventually threw me back to the earth. I crushed my vertebrae, but fortunately no nerves were damaged. Since then I am learning to become more and more grounded and loving the earth as much as the air.
Gold seemed like a perfect colour to celebrate finding a comfortable and playful balance between being earthbound and an air-being.

Thank you to Steffen Holzkamp for capturing this on video, editing and audio!