Gallery 2023 – Lilly Pelz
I carry you
The inspiration for this work came from the forest not far from my apartment in Cologne, where I spend at least one hour every day. The work “I Carry You” was created during a difficult time for me, a phase of transition in which I longed for support. During one of my walks, when I saw a piece of tree bark hanging loosely from a trunk, I felt a strong desire to create a work with this material, which almost resembles a piece of fabric.
The forest, which for me is a place of silence, safety, and returning to oneself, has become a fixed part of my home. With the bed surrounded by tree trunks, the tree bark acting as fabric, bedding me and enclosing me, I too become part of the forest. During the exhibition walk in which this work was shown, I included myself in the piece and performed a kind of ritual in which I watered the moss-covered tree trunks so that the moss would not dry out. Afterwards, I lay down in the bed and rested.
This was meant to express my gratitude for this place, but also the feeling of cleansing that I experience during my walks. I go into the forest with very mixed feelings and take the time to sort my thoughts and let go, at least in part, of uncertainty or fear. What remains is a feeling of safety, protection, and the certainty that the forest will continue to be there for the time being, and that its earth, its leaves, and this feeling will carry me.