Sonja Baeumel

Crocheted Membrane, 2008/2009, Hand-crocheted wool, 2 feet (each 62 x 11 x 1 cm), abdomen and thigh (67 x 44 x 1 cm), 2 arms (each 74 x 14 x 1 cm), head (32 x 27 x 1 cm), upper part of the body (38 x 26 x 1 cm), Courtesy of the artist

Cartography of the Human Body, 2010/2011, 46 photo prints, 20 x 30 cm (each), Courtesy of the artist, In collaboration with Erich Schopf

, 1000

Sonja B?umel creates fashion artifacts by using skin bacteria that is invisible yet exists all over the body. The work’s threads, when placed loosely on the body, display the bacteria’s reactions based on changes in body temperature; these signs increase gradually with time. For Crocheted Membrane, the artist observed these processes of bacteria covering the body translated it to clothing, a portion of which she crocheted. With this work, she claims that we should recognize the fact that human beings co-exist with bacteria, and ultimately we can gain a more harmonized view on the body with that in mind. Cartography of the Human Body is a collaborative project with bacteriologist Erich Schopf; he collected, analyzed, and recorded the bacteria from B?umel’s body and visualized them using a culture dish as canvas and B?umel’s skin bacteria as colors.

“The crocheted membrane translates scientific data into crochet pieces representing a design language in-between science and fashion design. How would a piece of clothing, which is defined by personal physical needs or, for example, our body temperature look like?” (Sonja B?umel)

Sonja B?umel

b. 1980. Lives and works in Amsterdam.
Sonja B?umel works across various disciplines including art, design, fashion and biological practice. Sonja studied Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Vienna, and holds a Bachelor in Arts from the University of Arts of Linz, as well as a Master from the Design Academy Eindhoven. She is lecturing and giving workshops in various international institutions and universities. Her work has been exhibited internationally in Ars Electronica Center, Linz; Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei; Gwacheon National Science Museum; and ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe. She is co-founder of Dunbar’s Number collective, member of Pavillion35 collective based in Vienna, and of the WNDRLUST collective based in Amsterdam. Sonja currently teaches at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam.