Ingo Vetter, Annette Weisser, Mitch Cope (Tree of Heaven Woodshop)

15.06.2024 –
21.09.2024

Kassel Chair Repair and some short movies

Once, after the Second World War, the tree of heaven thrived so well on rubble and ashes that it was nicknamed the ‘Trümmerbaum' (rubble tree) in Germany. In the 19th century, Chinese labour migrants also brought it to America. Its wood is brittle and tends to warp - as with other fast-growing species - and is therefore only suitable for use as construction timber to a limited extent. As fast as the tree grows, the durability of its wood is short-lived. Today, the uncontrolled growth of the tree is a sign of the industrial crisis.

In 2005, Annette Weisser, Mitch Cope and Ingo Vetter founded the ‘Detroit Tree of Heaven Woodshop’, which works exclusively with the wood of the Tree of Heaven, an inexhaustible resource - even in the city of Detroit. The Woodshop is set up as a locally organised network and develops artworks and commissions for international art institutions. The technique of recycling and upcycling is placed in the context of globalised ecosystems: The Asian tree of the gods, which has become an invasive species in many regions beyond its region of origin due to world trade, is specifically used as a raw material for the (re)construction of chairs at the Kunsthochschule Kassel (Kassel Art Academy). The frames of design classics are fitted with the pale yellowish wood of the tree of heaven.

Documentary photographs and video works complement the portrait of Detroit, which exemplifies the dramatic changes in the social, ecological and economic conditions of a city as a result of globalisation. The outlines of wooden vessel sculptures, based on various statistics relevant to Detroit from 1985 to 2005, such as unemployment or vacant buildings, nuance the image of a city in the shadow of its precarious living conditions.