In Conversation with Roswitha Maul, 6th of December 2021
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In Conversation with
Roswitha Maul
Roswitha Maul, Artist Talk
Tanja Heuchele: Can you describe yourself in 5 sentences?
Roswitha Maul: I find inspiration in things of daily life and things I’m doing besides art – let’s say, in my free time. Mostly these are topics related to the question “How do we want to live?” Housing, huts, social environments, sustainability. I like to think about these things from another perspective and develop artworks based on that. I also like to work with other artists because it broadens the view.
TH: Your life without art would be …
RM: … creativity and commentary on the world would require a different name.
TH: What material inspires you the most? And with which materials are you working the most at the moment?
RM: In recent years I’ve worked with liquid clay casting slip a lot. But I need a break. I’m thinking about new ways to develop my next works, and this influences the choice of material. My next materials will be ice and snow. Maybe sound will be a good solution, too.
Roswitha Maul, Exhibition View, 2021
Roswitha Maul, Artist Talk
TH: Are there also materials that you would never use again?
RM: Resin.
TH: What literature did you study for preparing your art piece(s)?
RM: I listen to the radio a lot.
TH: What is your work about? What is your intention with it? What should evoke in the viewer’s emotion?
RM: In the current exhibition, my work is about showing that participation in political space, especially the voting system, is very vulnerable. And my work is participative, so I really want people to join in actively. I got some feedback from a Russian woman, who was really happy about the installation and said that she felt understood and could vote for the Bundestag in the exhibition – symbolically, of course.
TH: When did the journey with Who’s afraid of_Rosa begin for you, and what keeps you involved?
RM: It began in 2019. Continuity, sharing expertise, and meeting good artists are what keep me involved.
TH: How is the collective Who’s afraid of_Rosa organized? So far, I’ve only met female Rosa’s… can men also be part of it?
RM: As far as I’m concerned, it’s OK as an all-female group.
Roswitha Maul, Exhibition View, 2021
Roswitha Maul, Artist Talk
TH: What does Rosa Luxemburg mean to you?
RM: She fell out of time. Her radicalism was something I admire. Sometimes I think she was a stupid person who didn’t want to accept the age she lived in, her position, and the options that were open to her. At other times, I wonder what we would know about her today if she had only been a little bit more careful, and what more she could have said. And she could have participated in the first German elections with women’s suffrage, and could herself have experienced what she was fighting for.
TH: The subline of the exhibition is public space – private space – political space. What space do you (not) feel comfortable in? Where would you like to make a difference? What is your perception of space? Is it even the case that the above-mentioned spaces do not exist without each other?
RM: Interesting question – the last one.
TH: How do you react to people who are not familiar with art, and how do you think they can be made to understand better?
RM: I think the current work is more easily understandable for people without a background in art than it is for some people with that background.
TH: What do you enjoy about your life as an artist?
RM: Working with fewer regulations and constraints than other specialists.
TH: What is great art for you?
RM: Can’t say.
TH: Your next projects, exhibitions. Where can you be seen next?
RM: My next project is a residency in Greenland in March/April 2022.
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