Veronika Dräxler
Veronika Dräxler on gifts from nature, her background in journalism and staying aligned with yourself.
The artist on Instagram: @veronikadraexler
The artists Website: https://veronikadraexler.cargo.site/
“On a Sunday in january 2020, I decided to challenge myself, because I fell in love with a branch that I was not allowed to take home with public transport. I asked myself, if I would be able to carry this branch all by myself from the forest in Frohnau to Kreuzberg? As I was not sure, if I could really walk 22 km + carrying the branch I didn’t share it right away. But now happy sharing: I‘m proud of myself, because I achieved it by walking for 7 hours. I took photos every hour and when I had to take a break.
What I learned:
* my will is indeed extremely strong
* so is my body
* the streets of Berlin are very long
* branches are very fragile and every time I lost a part of the branch (due to obstacles of civilization) I was close to tears and to give up and only could go on when I decided the branch was still beautiful without the now missing parts
* it’s amazing to do absurd things that in fact are very healthy if compared to our economy”
“With her ongoing photo series How to kill / Traces of life (2020), the artist marks traces that humans leave behind in their surroundings to make the influences visible. The interventions that are presented here in the form of structures and patterns symbolize the humankind desire for power. An ongoing archaic and systematic struggle at the same time which cannot be won.” - Maya Komarnicki
There is no culture that exists independently without connection to other cultures. This installation is inspired by biographical events that are a combination of intense mystical experience, conscious dependence on technology and my multicultural roots from Europe and Latin American.
Veronika Dräxler’s catalogue-magazine, “Post-Everything Ritualism & Hypernaturality“ is published on the occasion of the artist’s first solo exhibition at Galerie GEDOKmuc in Munich, October 2019. It focuses on the mystical encounter with the earth, the self, the body, rituals, syncretism and how to balance the influences of technology and cognitive mining.
The catalogue-magazine features chosen photographic, poetry, and drawing works from the artist, as well as video stills and photos from her performances. Images and words melt into a poetic narrative in “Post-Everything Ritualism & Hypernaturality”, which was also opened up to various authors who were invited to contribute to the text of the book, giving the viewer a stimulating combination of perspectives.
This video is part of a series where the artist examines areas of tension in her own life through exercises with her own body and her direct surroundings.