Discuvry

Confronted with the harsh reality of the Berlin property market and in keeping with their philosophy that art and life are indivisible, the Japanese media artist Yukihiro Taguchi (*1980) and Italian architect Chiara Ciccarello (*1986) created their own housing on waste land near Cuvrystraße on the banks of the Spree in Kreuzberg. Half shelter, half architectural installation made from recycled materials, it provided the freelance artists with a place to live and work for eighteen months.

Their initial action also set off a chain reaction: soon it was joined by other self-built houses and a multi-cultural community grew on site with over a hundred inhabitants. In 2014 the illegal housing complex was cleared by the police. However, it was possible to save Taguchi and Ciccarello’s house and since then it has been exhibited as an artwork entitled Discuvry in a series of international exhibitions. In each new location it encounters a different social environment from which it consistently reinvents its form and function. And every place that welcomes the house writes its way into the project’s history.

After visits to Denmark and Japan, Discuvry will set up its tents as part of the Ruhr Ding: Klima beside Silbersee II. Here the original construction will be extended with further elements and a platform on the lake.