summing up the whole year in just a few lines is never easy, but let´s not forget that we have started the whole thing with an odyssey to and in leeuwareden. this year is definitely coined by hope and despair, ambition and winning but definitely about disappointment. it has been a year with many small escapes to the sea or to luxembourg (as usually) but always with a known fact that you cannot escape yourself and you have to return to yourself, or your role you are meant to play in this world.

above a picture of me in mudam this summer. we had a short stay, nevertheless it was full of impressions that it feels like having spent he whole summer there. I will go back soon, and I hope it will help me to be off the carousel for some time.

I have already given up too much ambition in the art related activities, but had a great solo show and great participations anyway. my faith is deeply damaged in constant sorrow, making me loose orientation in given moral believes and my idea of transcendence. I have discovered the idea of the completely directionless multiverse, things just happen as one possible variation without any deeper meaning. my ambitions to focus on teaching activities and taking a new position have been successful but did not really made me happy. the promised land turned out to be differently than anticipated. I am in anyway, so lets see where it turns to. however, this year - more than ever before - has taught me the irrelevance of my own actions. after all this constant mourning and complaining I was standing up to take control to realize my own lack of ability to make a change. even more, it is like an actor in a daily soap, going through constellations with different figures in opposition trying to win the scene. every group forces you into a certain role, only in the little time you can spend alone you may wonder who you are actually and what to do with your time.

this is advanced wishing: if do not get what you wish for you feel bad, if you get it you´ll feel bad, too. you are always betrayed; it is never what you have wanted. It is hard to wish these days, hard to turn a wish into ambition. Where to go when there is no lighthouse at the horizon?

I do not have any art shows save for 2020, I believe something will come in, if it won´t nobody cares. I could imagine quitting; ten great years might be enough. I cannot take things seriously that you cannot take seriously.

I have somehow thought about symbols in the last days. directors like alex garland and artists like rembrandt and kehinde wiley have taught me to read the symbols. it is not the paintings title or topic that it is all about and it is not the narration of a movie, the given idea (or truth) is in the symbols. this principle might help to read my everyday (professional) interactions. by simply describing what is going on nothing is reviled. the little actions or single words offer the meta levels of the world. if you can read it, you are save from traps. i am not, obviously. pain is a great motivator, even if there is not ‘promised land’, there is a ‘no-go-area’ for sure. and here you are back in the dilemma: not doing something is not a possible action.

starting the next year is like being on the ocean in a nutshell, equipped with a map and able to navigate. the islands and beaches are just graphics on your map and tell nothing about the land you are going to discover. so you skip navigating and hope for higher forces to bring you to the place you would be unable to find yourself. well, you also might stay in you nutshell forever… in 2020 I hope for good ocean current…


in my last journal entry I came up with the image of people as bulbs in a chandelier told to shine brighter every time until they burn through. I went to a restaurant and found myself under a chandelier looking exactly like the imaginary one making a light that feels dark but not comfortable. however, read the symbols, it is already there.


I had this image of the dead end pivot and asked for your solutions. actually I received no response to it but I made up my own solution. you cannot crack the barriers at the end of the street, so you have to leave the whole thing using a further dimension. keep in mind, you always leave all dead ends, even those you like. the good thing is the ability to return. however, escaping from the dead end pivot means to escape from the entire construct, for a certain period of for ever. I would like to call it ‘multi-dimensional’ thinking, but I guess it is just lateral thinking. may it be helpful for your decisions.



I was invited to visit the dujardin museum in krefeld, documenting the legacy of alcohol manufacturing. It has been a nice opportunity but typical for me theses days, finding myself in situations asking myself how they fit into the whole narration. all these puzzle pieces take time you might probably need to get yourself back on the track leading to the lighthouse. what the hell is my lighthouse? let´s have a drink instead.


going to the museum folkwang is always like a visit in church for me, helping to calm down and a great place to escape from the outside world. I managed to visit the current show ‘der montierte mensch’ with kent granyon, which is just another ritual while I missed so many of my annual rituals. however, I have a strong fascination for avery k. singer, even when I never know if I like or dislike her work while being believed to surf on the wave of post-internet hype. additionally, the gossip of high class gallerists trying to seduce her to join her cadre of represented artists makes it all pretty hilarious. I cannot deny my interest in post internet art, hype developments or even gossip. It is entertaining anyway, isn´t it?


a few weeks ago an artist and experimental film maker called me and asked for me to contribute music to one of his films. the whole thing was wired enough to trigger my interest. i sat down and collected some ambient and wired record of tides tracks but he was looking for something else. as we were not able to agree on my payment and it became obvious that he was looking for foley or mickeymousing sounds, we decided not to do it together. I remembered my collaboration with matthias danberg. we are still both surprised by the simplicity of our collaboration. I still believe it was based upon the fact that we trusted in the skills of the other while teaming up playing on different positions. collaborations can be easy if you set them up like this. also it is good if you are friends.


I was rendering frames for months now for a one-minute-sequence of a kiss given from one scanned figure to the other. the rendering process had been large, the result is okay but less exiting than expected. however, ‘the kiss’ will come up in the portfolio in 2020.


a new digital material made me create this strange monster. I could be an animal from the deep sea or maybe a realistic picture of ‘the beast with billion backs’ as seen in the second futurama movie. however I am working on an animated sequence which will hopefully show up in the multiverse solo show.




back in 2015 our friends from kelbassas panoptikum created a labyrinth as well as many sculptures for the ‘extraschicht’ in summer. see 2015-06-23 adopting an alien plant labyrinth leftover | entry by sven. after the festival numerous sculptures were meant to be destroyed, michaela spontaneously rescued the big alien plant which was later called audrey. the piece ended up in our living room, appearing impressive and pretty scary. detlef kelbassa showed up to fix little pieces. after some changes we had to put it outside after consulting kelbassas panoptikum. the weather destroyed the piece slowly, the birds also helped a lot. as the piece became more and more a danger for the fauna, we had to destroy the piece. fortunately there is still enough panoptikum in the collection.




when I put the picture of me in an apartment in whitstable online I received some feedback telling that it looks like a cover for a rap artists. however, adding some fake instagram filter to it made it even more look hip. over the years (especially when doing sports) if have developed a true interest in hip hop and rap music (how unbelievable in my twenties) so I had been working on a compilation for years now. the rap cover will get some music soon, I will put out my ‘thug life’ mixtape podcast soon, it will be available from the /CAMP. make sure to get access, this is the extra power for every exercise or party!




record of tides will be back soon, I am working on stuff: a new audio visual set will be performed soon. the official announcement is supposed to come up soon, up to now only some soft facts for your schedule: duisburg, february 8. It is supposed to be wild. and fun. see you there!

seeya´ll in 2020!



studio. busy.

studio.svenpiayda.com


sven piayda
# H O W D E E P I S Y O U R L O V E
galerie tellerrand, gelsenkirchen
2015-11-01 — 2016-01-31 (archive)

sven piayda @ galerie tellerand
#howdeepisyourlove (archive of complete online show)
galerie tellerand


karla köhler with sven piayda | k-city
HOCHHAUS - HÜTTE - HINTERHOF
DER REITZ DES UNGELIEBTEN
galerie treppenhaus, erlangen
2019 permanent exhibition

opening hours mo—fr 9am to 8 pm
consulting and sale wed 4 to 6pm
and by appointment
fon 0177 7299 665

galerie treppenhaus
henkestraße 91
91052 erlangen

galerie-treppenhaus.de




sven piayda | heliodorus
JAHRESSCHAU GELSENKIRCHENER
KÜNSTLERINNEN UND KÜNSTLER
kunstmuseum gelsenkirchen, gelsenkirchen
2019-11-15 – 2020-02-02
opening 2019-11-15, 7 pm

gelsenkirchen.de






questions? complaints? ideas? contributions? collaborations?
click here

the topics of the blog appear to come up in circles, I find myself discussing the same issues again and again. I am just a simple-minded parrot screaming the same phrases over and over again, questioning who has taught me these phrases and why I keep repeating them instead of flying away… but this is not about redundancy, there is a new layer and cognition in it every time. I am looking back to a year of problems and sorrow but also of ambition and effort to make a change, for myself and others. realizing that I need more time for myself and the people meaning something to me made me spend more time in work hope it would become less. what a naïve idea. I feel like an idiot, once again.

sometimes people tell me that I am depressive, actually I have never before been more convinced to be mentally sane. the doctor might be offing pills but this does not mean that you are sick. it is always fighting symptoms while accepting side effects. I am sensitive to the world, especially to the part that is surrounding me. I feel a certain sense of unfairness in many things. I am no longer complaining about the art scene, I am complaining about the common sense of exploitation, the worshipping of the golden calf (or as I like to say: the most powerful force in the universe is known to be profit) willing to sacrifice everything, to buy and take pills that make you accept the waste of your time. as I work with numerous students, trainees and colleagues that I feel deeply responsible for, I am trying to bring up values like self-awareness, responsibility, seriousness and fun next to social behaviour. I have to accept that I am teaching values that I do no longer experience for myself. this is making me a liar technically, as I am anticipating a world which does no longer exist. from a professional view, I am the best me for 20 years, I can lead my potential into productivity and cognition to others, even as an artist I am on a good way being happy with what I can do. In the end I just feel like a bulb in the chandelier told to shine brighter every time. modern economy does not define general aims, it just expands the process. the product is secondary as long as it more of it. the result must be what we are starting to face recently. it is getting dark as more and more bulbs are burning through.


and here is a little graphic illustrating the phenomenon of the dead end pivot, in image spinning in my head for longer now. imagine yourself in the middle of the pivot and you can choose which way to go. you might choose between, job, family, hobby, art, drugs, thrill… whatever. the dead end pivot gives you all options but you will never go far. every decision leads you into nothing, so you will return to focus on another aspect, which once again is a dead end. you can do again and again, frustration guaranteed. how to get out of it? I have created a graphic solution that I will come up with later, also I have to turn this abstract solution into something usable in life. for the meantime, think about the dead end pivot in you life. what is your strategy?


I returned to the university of wuppertal for professional reasons. the last time I visited this place ten years ago for the exhibition of design students. (see 2009-04-02 datamilch on KD09, designing the future | entry by sven). I always wanted to return for these annual showings, but no-one ever informed my about them. however, now I was meeting with design professors and heads of media design department. it was amazing. within a circle of highly educated and qualified people there was a lot of discussion on the digital future in teaching. even if this group of experts knew what they were talking about, and as every one was able to add a new layer of cognition to the issue it was impossible to merge the lines. as blogger and artist I am also more interested in questions than in answers but when it comes to teaching and working on the future of people we should be very aware and sure in what we do to them.


I went to kronenburg for a meeting. the place was formally known as the ‘hermann göring meisterschule’ (no kidding) and is now place for seminar work. I have been working with colleagues on stuff that did not really had relevance for my professional field, I hope it is for them. to be honest, everyone was waiting for the night.


a little pile of snow set in the hilly landscape of kronenburg. I had to take a picture; it might hopefully be the only snow to see this year.


some beer and booze in the fireplace chamber. well, these informal meetings are free time and work at the same time. and it is strange that alcohol is a common drug in our society. there are contradictions everywhere. also I retuned home totally stressed after a visit of a chicken nugget factory and a conference. ready for some freaking out and some sleep, actually there was not enough time for one of it. the picture of my feet next to the fireplace remains. honestly it was a nice moment surrounded by work and stress.


in order to meet grischo schlüsi at his birthday I ended up on an eva kurowski gig. even if everyone told me that she is pretty famous I did not know her. her mix of jazz and funny german vocals would not be my first choice but was surprisingly convincing. I had a great time on a jazz gig and will hopefully see her live again. also I found myself singing ‘girl from ipanema’ afterwards quite often.


michaela was part of the sven piayda studio office team but is now heading for a new job. surprisingly she ended up in stuttgart for a training on studio photography. however, she is niw holding a certificate for qualified reference, let’s see if we can use her new skills…


you never know who is watching, you do not even know where. well, sometimes I receive people sending these screenshots, you feel stalked and humbled at the same time. however, keep ’em coming.


I found this little poster in the dark on the way for a steak. (yes, I’m still not vegan, although my post-humanistic ideas would force me to). we have a true fascination for bouncing castles, even if we usually never use any. nevertheless it is a perfect symbol for childish joy and absence of sorrow. bouncing appears as ultimate way of actually living. the poster advertisement dropped on the ground in cold rain appears like a promise that cannot be kept or the good time that is already over.


studio work: I am still processing pictures I have taken in luxembourg this summer. It is an amazing place and there will be amazing tableaus. I am still overwhelmed. this short stay in luxembourg has a long echo, it feels like the while summer…




karla köhler is recently presenting our new collaborations next to her own work in her open studio in nuremberg. we are having great fun here, collaboration has never before been so easy and impressive.




rick sanchez at SG1? you might have realized my fascination for rick and morty, now they have also made it into my instagram story documenting the ‘if and only if’ show. well, I think these weird figures fit perfectly into the show, as I am drafting upcoming solo shows recently, we are half way to the multiverse oriented shows.


the studio is to work on ‘if and only if’, the show to open november 11 at SG1 in duisburg. you have the chance to access the reader via /CAMP (there won´t be catalogue but a reader helping you to get the concept of the exhibited works…). plus there are some further shows and festivals to be prepared. cross you fingers.

studio.svenpiayda.com
/CAMP



studio. busy.

studio.svenpiayda.com


sven piayda
# H O W D E E P I S Y O U R L O V E
galerie tellerrand, gelsenkirchen
2015-11-01 — 2016-01-31 (archive)

sven piayda @ galerie tellerand
#howdeepisyourlove (archive of complete online show)
galerie tellerand


karla köhler with sven piayda | k-city
HOCHHAUS - HÜTTE - HINTERHOF
DER REITZ DES UNGELIEBTEN
galerie treppenhaus, erlangen
2019 permanent exhibition

opening hours mo—fr 9am to 8 pm
consulting and sale wed 4 to 6pm
and by appointment
fon 0177 7299 665

galerie treppenhaus
henkestraße 91
91052 erlangen

galerie-treppenhaus.de


sven piayda
IF AND ONLY IF
SG1 kunstraum, duisburg
2019-11-11 – 2019-12-23
opening 2019-11-11, 7 pm

sg1-kunstraum.de




sven piayda | heliodorus
JAHRESSCHAU GELSENKIRCHENER
KÜNSTLERINNEN UND KÜNSTLER
kunstmuseum gelsenkirchen, gelsenkirchen
2019-11-15 – 2020-02-02
opening 2019-11-15, 7 pm

gelsenkirchen.de






questions? complaints? ideas? contributions? collaborations?
click here

there is a bunch of things I am dealing with recently, sometimes one thing is echoing in you head while you are stumbling into the next. two weeks ago I decided to spend my birthday instead of having a party by visiting the eija-liisa ahtila show at lehmbruck museum in duisburg. (I hope not to miss the artist talk on november 9…) the show title plays with terms like sculpture and post-humanism and feels a little bit misleading and even like a misfit. however, I experienced having a chimp arm (see picture above) witch was meant to give me more sympathy to a being of another species.

athila is a fantastic artist, her video work using multiple screening projections for the same story is immersive and pushing the medium forward, also you can watch it again and again while finding new layers in the work. the term of post-humanism appeared too big somehow anyway, big enough to leave an echo in my heat to do some research. the term is used for two things: the future (human) being like cyborgs and self-aware artificial intelligences on the one hand and the idea of spreading the concept of acting the way you want to treated on other species. well, the future appears intellectual, we are definitely at the next step of evolution, giving birth to post human species while feeling no longer superior to other forms of life. the individual seems to be in danger to get lost, however you should not take evolution to personal, all the atoms you are made of are borrowed anyway.


let´s make a cut here. on helloween we managed to get to cinema again to see joaquin phoenix as joker. I guess watching a movie with joaqiun phoenix on helloween is a tradition now as I started it years ago with a dvd of ‘her’ while waiting (equipped with booze and axe) for the kids to ring. I do not have a big fascination for comic characters and I think it is stupid to like a figure for being crazy, this is a concept made for a pubescent audience only. todd phillips ‘joker’ uses the dc franchise and key frame fan service to tell a great story which tells a lot of our time. the movie is as great as everyone says, but that is not what I want to talk about. the joker becomes a symbol for nihilism and the loss of values. someone called arthur fleck who never really had a chance gives his best to become better than he is in many ways. when his hopes and believes fall apart and he realizes that nothing matters, everything falls apart. his own life doesn’t matter so everyone’s life does not matter. as he is not the only one who feels disconnected from any chance and any other human being he becomes figurehead for a violent movement against the rich, against the police and against the society. the joker is the cool version of michael douglas in ‘falling down’, he is seductive and like a messiah opening paths out of the passive desperation. in the end he is just sick and violent fascist giving the most flat answers to the issues around him. his way out is destructive rebellion. even if we have much sympathy for this devil, he cannot be a role model, he is drafted as tricky antagonist, not evil in the first place but desperate enough to turn down every standard.

I was thinking about our days, a gap between the poor and the rich, more and more mentally ill people around, frustration ending up in yellow west or alt-right demonstrations and fascist elections. there is a lot of potential for violence and flat solutions. going back to the idea of post-humanism I have to say that it is strange to bring these developments together. having deep frustration and hate of others on one side and the idea common rights for all species and leap in evolution to the next level.

I feel that the term of mankind or society does not seem to fit anymore; this is what I want to call a schism. the split is big enough to have movements going into opposite directions. these things could also take place on different planets. so what can we do with it?

I know that I am a privileged and privileged people always look like never having any problems. I am am still frustrated concerning a bunch of things and I have been running into dead ends again and again no matter how far I have come and will come. I still have solution fantasies with abstruse violence but this is just another dead end. the only way is to keep trying independent of any conceptual believe. jesus christ´s idea of equal treatment may be god-given, emanuel kant´s idea is developed from an intellectual point of view. you can follow these ideas but disbelieve must not lead to executed nihilism. if you are interested in the multiverse theory you might have made your peace with the assumption that everything has happened in every variation before and it also will in the future, also everything happens in every variation now in countless parallel universes generating the same or different scenarios. however, you have to realize that you are nothing special and you are not unique. there is no coincidence, just one version of every possible version that has or will happen. do not take it personal, you simply do not matter to the multiverse. so if there is nothing beyond and everything does not matter, all we have is one another. you may have sympathy for the rich, for the sick and for the chimp.




back to eija-liisa ahtila: her work is actually brilliant while being transparent in production, simply symbolic in narration and (what I like to call it) mirroring the medium. this is more than a recommendation and a must see for everyone who is into cinema!


a sculpture being fascinating and familiar is the construction by kenneth snelson. it is impressive to experience yourself watching the construction without believing its statics. if you are into this one, check the needle tower in the kröller-müller-museum-park in otterlo.


the lembruck museum parallelly displays some big names, a video sculpture by julian opie in front of the museum and a nicolai´s spinning ton with holes to generate certain flickering frequencies to stimulate your brain. this piece did not work for me, nevertheless, I was in need to check his solo show at k21 in düsseldorf.


I was wondering if it would make sense for me to check the carsten nicolai show at k21. I knew some of his works and I liked the apparati without understanding what it was all about. entering the exhibition was overwhelming: sound, laser and op art elements tease your senses. you are impressed first of all. checking the works you have to read a lot. reading is not a problem for me in this context but after a while you get tired of explaining. nicolai presents machines and scientific set-up displaying scientific phenomena but you start asking yourself where he wants to go and what might be his intention or message he wants to deliver. do you need all these lasers, radioactive atoms, jellyfishes and reversed mounted screens to display – well, to display what?


the seductive aesthetic of an old tape delay or echo machine has a hypnotic power. nicolai presents (echo machine inspired) wall pieces and even the tape delay with its reflection. I know this is a bad game and not fair to say so but I have seen better before: back in 2011 I discovered laurent montaron’s ‘melancholia’ at mudam luxembourg, a running tape delay mounted into the wall. I do not want to say the one piece is better because I have seen it before, but it is better because his work changed my way of looking at things and my language as an artist. he was exploring the world and lay open new layers. nicolai´s show misses to pass on a message among the quotation of context of science and culture. nevertheless, the carsten nicolai show at k21 is worth the visit, impressive, hypnotic and also entertaining. even the machines impress a lot. I was simply looking for something beyond.


when I was visiting the show I was thinking about my own work. michaela announced to have seen some parallels, even in titles. when I do stuff there is usually also a lot to read and I try to create larger ideas by combining my works like puzzle pieces. I was wondering if my audience is able to read my work properly or even gets the connection using the escorting text. I wonder if people visit my stuff without realizing what it is all about, would it be enough for me if they simply like it? would it be okay for them if they simply like it? I only hope they get the notion that there is more in it, something beyond, a certain truth that is in need to be discovered. Is a show only entertainment or also education? can it be both?


I drove home from a conference in beautiful autumn light. it looks like ‘lord of the rings’ or luxembourg but it is ratingen actually. enjoy!.



an autumn afternoon I have spend in the gruga with my mother. flamingos and red leaves and even many more strange birds.


our short trim to the westruper heide made us witness some fly agarics. (i guess they are, probably only similar looking ones)



also I had the chance to visit the opening of ‘das beseelte ding’ an exhibition of design students from essen at museum folkwang. surprisingly this show is a great one and worth visiting: from cinemagraph photography, to 3d-printing automation to a cute, interactive robot. recommended!


in the making...


update 2019-11-08: flashback humour: i did not spend much time this year in luxembourg but it was truly intense making it feel like months. so here is another beatiful swing-by snapshot of the mudam. the kirchberg is a perfect place to be. soon again, hopefully!


update 2019-11-08: yet another snapshot of me examining the beach during a daily beautiful sunset in whitsable. what you cannot see in this lighnige are are oyster farms in the shore. breeding oysters is big business here and i did not try a single one, which i haven´t regret yet. i could need a lobster or a fish, a beer and a sunset right now.


the studio is to work on ‘if and only if’, the show to open november 11 at SG1 in duisburg. you have the chance to access the reader via /CAMP (there won´t be catalogue but a reader helping you to get the concept of the exhibited works…). plus there are some further shows and festivals to be prepared. cross you fingers.

studio.svenpiayda.com
/CAMP



studio. busy.

studio.svenpiayda.com


sven piayda
# H O W D E E P I S Y O U R L O V E
galerie tellerrand, gelsenkirchen
2015-11-01 — 2016-01-31 (archive)

sven piayda @ galerie tellerand
#howdeepisyourlove (archive of complete online show)
galerie tellerand


karla köhler with sven piayda | k-city
HOCHHAUS - HÜTTE - HINTERHOF
DER REITZ DES UNGELIEBTEN
galerie treppenhaus, erlangen
2019 permanent exhibition

opening hours mo—fr 9am to 8 pm
consulting and sale wed 4 to 6pm
and by appointment
fon 0177 7299 665

galerie treppenhaus
henkestraße 91
91052 erlangen

galerie-treppenhaus.de


sven piayda | stars and stripes point never
CAN ART BE THE TOOTHLESS TIGER THAT BITES TRUMP?
dru industie park, ulft, nl
2019-11-02 – 2019-11-15

dru-industriepark.nl


sven piayda
IF AND ONLY IF
SG1 kunstraum, duisburg
2019-11-11 – 2019-12-23
opening 2019-11-11, 7 pm

sg1-kunstraum.de




sven piayda | heliodorus
JAHRESSCHAU GELSENKIRCHENER
KÜNSTLERINNEN UND KÜNSTLER
kunstmuseum gelsenkirchen, gelsenkirchen
2019-11-15 – 2020-02-02
opening 2019-11-15, 7 pm

gelsenkirchen.de






questions? complaints? ideas? contributions? collaborations?
click here

we are living in emotional times, things come up quickly and massive, obviously to vanish even faster. recently we are facing a politically interested youth taking care of the ecologic system in times of climate change. you may question the seriousness and depth of this movement, but there is nothing wrong with its original intention. I guess I am already part of a generation that feels strange when the younger ones tell us what to do while having no idea where their own lifestyle come from. so it is simple to image a stereotype of a spoiled child being driven to a ‘fridays for future’ demonstration in their parents´suv. and here the whole idea of thinking about tomorrow falls apart, all credibility is gone. it appears obvious that only rich and egoistic people have sports utility vehicles, to be well protected with luxury offering best protection for their kids while seriously threaten all other kids.

actually, things are never that easy. let´s go back in time: long before suv cars become trend I was into off-roaders. I was fascinated by the roughness and power and the appearance of being different while being able to go where no road limits your options. at this time the range of off-roaders was quite limited, the cars were not to expensive, the lada niva seemed to be even a quite cheap option. the reason I did never have an off-roader was to think about my needs and my lifestyle. I have to travel on motorways most of the time, it makes sense to be aerodynamic, to have space for luggage and passengers, to have music and that´s it. there was no need for a jeep or something like that. the car industry must have had an eye on people like me who are looking for an off-roader but actually are wanting a limousine. the result was a fleet (or flood) of sports utility vehicles, cars that appear quite too large and not appropriate for off road experience. all these models seem to have started from this idea of crossing over the idea of being unique to a luxurious tank for fighting all the other luxurious tanks in the urban jungle. the car has become a status symbol for richness, but also for protection of the self and the ignorance of the others. I cannot say that this bad image is true, but it is there anyway.

when michaela had to travel to stuttgart for professional reasons the company organized a hired car. in advance we made jokes about it and getting offered a suv (michaela is even more critic on suv’s than me) and bingo: she was offered a seat taracco. indeed, she reported to have felt save and comfortable but also strange to be alone in a car that was made to take seven people. when we had the car the weekend afterwards we took a trip to the more sophisticated area of the ruhr area which made us feel like a persiflage of everyone taking the upper class lifestyle too serious.


well, the problem with bad images of things or symbols for decadence is always the point of view and much prejudice. sports utility vehicles are believed to be more thirsty than other cars and in crash situations more lethal for others. the board computer tells that the consumption is not higher than in other cars, but who would believe the car industry which is known for bending data wherever it is possible. in fact oversized cars have higher consumption and emission compared to smaller cars. but what is oversized? this question can only be answered by the individual – but what if the individual decision affects everyone else? also it is also possible to kill people with a small car, even a small car weights a ton. it is hard to find evidence for its evilness and probably this is not the point. the big cars have become a symbol for a problem in society, the explicit compartmentalisation and also demonstrated ignorance concerning the issues of others. a prohibition of suv´s will not be the answer, and it is solving no problem.
we have to look at the bigger picture. electric cars may be one puzzle piece in fighting climate change but simply replacing all cars and engines is horribly naïve. so where does the electric power come from? and where do the materials for electric cars come from? fairphone and shiftphone have proven that it is impossible to produce a smartphone without child labour or deals with rouge nations. what does this mean to make a car? (and there is no fair produced electric car recently, by the way…)
we should question our believe of standards concerning anticipated mobile flexibility and working hours. we have to reduce all the traffic going on instead of exchanging the growing amount of vehicles. in our modern time of digital devices and home office options, do you really need to travel five days a week to another city for work? is the only way to relax to fly to a warm county far away? how can we optimize and reduce traveling and our time of work and recreation? maybe fighting climate change is not a question of going without something, maybe it is an option to gain benefit for everyone. it is not about giving it is also about receiving. you simply have to look at the bigger picture. the suv is only in your head.

however, I am not pointing my finger on anyone, I am part of the problem, even without a suv. I have to question my lifestyle and everyday decisions concerning consumption and driving around. like everyone else I do not believe in relinquishment but in alternative, so lets find alternatives for all these every day routines we never dare to question. may saving the environment is just a side effect of developing a better way to live…


a picture of the last day of summer, a sunny sunday in september in the garden. I know I am lucky, when the day looks like this, you do not need to leave home.


a found ‘sculpture’ in a park in mülheim. I do not know what the original piece looked like or was all about but I was fascinated by the erased body which only left the feet behind. I do not know if this was an act of vandalism, but the feet only made it still a powerful sculpture. just like jeff koon´s ‘gazing ball’ which looked much more interesting after it had been accidentally crushed by a visitor.


october 3rd was great to visit the gruga again to celebrate autumn. however, there was the raptor show again. it is funny, I have missed it for years and now I am joining every raptor show half accidentally. the weather was wet and strange, rain and sun at the same time made this show even more surreal.


we went back to zeeland, well, this is my forth time this year, probably my personal record. this a moment with sunny weather in the beach bar, one of only a few sunny moments.


I am desperately bound to rituals, I think it is crazy and I am annoyed of myself but I cannot break out. so here is the current mussels picture. perfect at piet hein, recommended.


zoutelande has become our favourite place in zeeland (not only for offering ‘crispy garnalen’), even if it becomes more and more touristic. the people there take care to offer always something, after the bouncing parcours in summer and now a perfectly timed and dramatized fireworks show. we have been irritated by the extreme lightness and the trash it brought up to be left to the beach. I remember the gruga celebration which skipped the fireworks of a laser show because of ecologic reasons. now I have understood why.


and this is me while checking out: fully packed and dressed like an arctic scientist while being always paranoid about forgetting something in the room. you´ll get used to it.


a student designed poster featuring a collage of obama eating to remind the other students not to eat at the computer in the computer equipped rooms. it´s no fun to sit in someone else´s mess. however, whenever I am in that room I have to laugh out loud, obama eating is pure fun to me, no one really looks good while eating, so why are most of the dates organized around a dinner!? my favourite one is obamas happy and satisfied expression while drinking.

looking at this collage makes me less hungry. to whoever having made this: you made my day, actually some of 'em!


in the making...


the studio is to work on ‘if and only if’, the show to open november 11 at SG1 in duisburg. you have the chance to access the reader via /CAMP (there won´t be catalogue but a reader helping you to get the concept of the exhibited works…). plus there are some further shows and festivals to be prepared. cross you fingers.

studio.svenpiayda.com
/CAMP



studio. busy.

studio.svenpiayda.com


sven piayda
# H O W D E E P I S Y O U R L O V E
galerie tellerrand, gelsenkirchen
2015-11-01 — 2016-01-31 (archive)

sven piayda @ galerie tellerand
#howdeepisyourlove (archive of complete online show)
galerie tellerand


karla köhler with sven piayda | k-city
HOCHHAUS - HÜTTE - HINTERHOF
DER REITZ DES UNGELIEBTEN
galerie treppenhaus, erlangen
2019 permanent exhibition

opening hours mo—fr 9am to 8 pm
consulting and sale wed 4 to 6pm
and by appointment
fon 0177 7299 665

galerie treppenhaus
henkestraße 91
91052 erlangen

galerie-treppenhaus.de


sven piayda | stars and stripes point never
CAN ART BE THE TOOTHLESS TIGER THAT BITES TRUMP?
dru industie park, ulft, nl
2019-11-02 – 2019-11-15

dru-industriepark.nl


sven piayda
IF AND ONLY IF
SG1 kunstraum, duisburg
2019-11-11 – 2019-12-23
opening 2019-11-11, 7 pm

sg1-kunstraum.de




sven piayda | heliodorus
JAHRESSCHAU GELSENKIRCHENER
KÜNSTLERINNEN UND KÜNSTLER
kunstmuseum gelsenkirchen, gelsenkirchen
2019-11-15 – 2020-02-02
opening 2019-11-15, 7 pm

gelsenkirchen.de






questions? complaints? ideas? contributions? collaborations?
click here

this summer feels like a layer cake again. in the shadow of sorrow are still some weird and funny episodes. to grow up probably means to feel happy only in a very short slots of time. also, looking back offers a lot of opportunity to feel old.
there are great moments everywhere and unexpected. I often feel like closing the blog as i´m realizing my on irrelevance for the world and what I would have to tell it plus it would be a an opportunity to fight the narcissism which covers all the despair. on the other hand it helps me to remember and to appreciate the great moments. it is like instagram for myself, I am convincing myself of the great time I obviously have. so here is a lot of fun, actually you cannot see the space in between. we all have issues and so have to tread us this way. at least we have one another and we´re all screwed anyway.

let’s just see what has been collected and is in need to be put on the list of worthy memories.


albert hammond came to mülheim to perform along the rattles and marmalade on an august summer night. I guess I would never have bought tickets for a senior’s event like this one but I have to admit that I am a hammond fan since I watched a concert at night on arte. I remember myself questioning why this old guy is covering top 40 hits from the eighties before realizing that he has written all of them. he made a big impression. however, michi and me decided to have a burger instead and sneak around the closed off festival area in the park to see if we could hear or see something. surprisingly we found a barrier high enough to roll in below it without any security guy witnessing. we stepped in, a security guy must have got an idea of what we did but without daring to ask. we would not have had a good lie anyway. we vanished in the crowd and ended on the tiny hill watching the second half of the hammond show with all the super hits. it was great and exiting, the music and our action. I promise this was the only illegal thing I did in ten years. let´s keep this secret.


before we entered the show, I witnessed a penrose triangle in the gardens around the park. you might know my fascination for it and it was like a weird sign to find it there. It might teach you how little you know about the world caused by your limited perception.


more music: this summer I have attended the freilichtbühne in mülheim quite regularly, mostly alone but even with friends. I have witnessed to many great musicians performing and a half interested audience. performers have a fascination on me, whenever I see them playing id like to start a rock band again, but if watch it long enough you always see how invidious the whole thing is. being a musician is tough and the audience does not care anyway. even if they love you during the show, everything is forgotten and irrelevant after the last note is played.


sounds venlo, the greatest record store around is celebrating its 35 anniversary. dennis (aka dj kent granyon) and me managed it to step by to spend some money on records and fried stuff. without noticing, we must have spent about ninety minutes in the store touching everything they have to offer. I won´t tell how much money we left there but it is a great opportunity to expand my aphex twin collection.



we did this kind of trip before when ‘syro’ came out. we had a great time and decided to do this quickly again. well, that was five years ago.




the museum folkwang was supposed to be visited more frequently this summer. however, they have rearranged their collection. mostly structured along the motifs, this arranging appears flat but is familiar to us from dutch museums. some arrangements work better, others don’t. plus: the museum is taking care of the history of their pieces, it has to checked if works are or oar not looted art, so some of them might vanish from the collection.

wow, what´s happening with the tree. which kind of bird would shake it that way. wait, another part is shaking… is this tree dancing? yes it is. william forsythe (the artist and choreographer who also did the video wall in the foyer which makes you twist in time) install little devices on the trees which make them dance to music we cannot hear. a moment that might remember you of a video work by david claerbout, but this is actually happening!




duisburg has a fish restaurant looking back on a 180 years family history called ‘das letzte haus am platz’. the restaurant is known for its quality and also quantity they offer. also it is placed next to a large chimney making it pretty surreal. additionally the animals running around you make it even more an adventure. we visited it with friends two years ago and returned with some more friends. plus: after all this eating you can go for a walk to the ferry at the rhine giving a dutch feeling far way from the netherlands. I have to go back to the netherlands…






before work starts I was invited to spend the day with colleagues at the elbsee in düsseldorf. dietmar and me captured a pedalo to relax on the lake. he delivered a funny panorama shot of me in the style of a panorama shot he did of me back in 2016 in liege, begium. so this is another opportunity to feel old. time just rushes by.


actaually we wanted to go to the chemical show of ferdi schüth at the freilichtbühne. unfortunately the event was so overcrowded that the police closed the whole thing down and did not let us it because it was already full. (the loveparade disaster still has an echo on events…) we went back to the little port at the promenade to listen to tschaichowski (serenade for strings(!)) and mozart. it was great, once again, all musicians are treated with the same admiration followed by ignorance. however, thrilling and inspiring.


another funny episode: my mobile rang with a curator of a museum calling. I have applied for a museum show and was waiting for an answer. instead I was told that someone had left the jury so I was chosen to join the jury. I only would have to withdraw my application and spend the afternoon with the museum staff. before I could show my irritation it was clear that I could not join the jury due schedule difficulties. it is totally nuts: it is like getting the offer to work more but getting less money. I could not resist to give the curator an advice I have taken from walter white (yes, heisenberg): if you want to make a deal you must have something to offer. it is strange, I never demand much, but getting less than nothing is really leaving me inactive and speechless. also, this teaches you how juries (and museums) work: maybe your work is not chosen for the show but you can decide who is… plus: what is my qualification here? giving up my own ambition and being flexible anyway? the whole thing leaves me speechless. I cannot take the scene serious anymore, less and less.
(by the way, the picture above is chosen randomly and is not giving a clue who I am talking about)


over the last months I have started to watch ‘rick and morty’ on behalf of numerous friends. after being sceptical I developed a huge fascination on the figures and the complex storytelling taking things to the next level. one of my absolute favourite episodes is the one with mr meeseeks (‘meeseeks and destroy’). there are wired things going on anyway, but you see how self-torturing issues can be solved easily and how quickly simple things get out of control to end in lethal chaos. you´ll also find out what makes a good adventure and how to handle the post mortem memory of a great leader who turns out to be child molester – here is just one option to handle it.
the whole show probably pushes nihilism, everything happens again and again in parallel universes, in past and future and even right now. nothing really matters and nothing means anything. but even rick sanchez tells his daughter that she matters to him for reasons he cannot explain himself and even he starts praying in the few moments he looses control. obviously things are not that simple in this universe but he offers just another point of view for a bigger picture to be arranged by yourself. let´s close the a mr meeseeks quote: ‘existence is pain.’


update 2019-09-07: here is a funny picture of ray harms and myself taken at werdener wiesn open air by rebecca gottschick. raimond did not perform for the open air but usually performs with the stage name 'raum für notizen'. we talked about opportunities for making our own festivals and parties for electronic music far apart from techno. i cannot really remember how it happened that the picture was taken but it is a proof for a great day anyway.

soundcloud.com/user-234109975-789495067


update 2019-09-17: after last year´s success of the yard sale we have tried to do it once again. this year we did not have honey to offer but a lots of other stuff from bicycles to amplifieres, seats to tv screens... and it was once again a great opportunity to sell art. actually it was a little less crowded than the year before but it is always great to spend time with friends in front of the house. see you next year!?


the studio is to work on ‘if and only if’, the show to open november 11 at SG1 in duisburg. you have the chance to access the reader via /CAMP (there won´t be catalogue but a reader helping you to get the concept of the exhibited works…). plus there are some further shows and festivals to be prepared. cross you fingers.

studio.svenpiayda.com
/CAMP



studio. busy.

studio.svenpiayda.com


sven piayda
# H O W D E E P I S Y O U R L O V E
galerie tellerrand, gelsenkirchen
2015-11-01 — 2016-01-31 (archive)

sven piayda @ galerie tellerand
#howdeepisyourlove (archive of complete online show)
galerie tellerand


karla köhler with sven piayda | k-city
HOCHHAUS - HÜTTE - HINTERHOF
DER REITZ DES UNGELIEBTEN
galerie treppenhaus, erlangen
2019 permanent exhibition

opening hours mo—fr 9am to 8 pm
consulting and sale wed 4 to 6pm
and by appointment
fon 0177 7299 665

galerie treppenhaus
henkestraße 91
91052 erlangen

galerie-treppenhaus.de






questions? complaints? ideas? contributions? collaborations?
click here

and here is another story from luxembourg, we did not stay that long actually, but only a few days are enough for three entries in the journal. over our last trips we have developed another ritual: visiting mullerthal before going back to germany. the mullerthal is a quite rural and natural area coined by woods, the schiessentümpel and rocks. I was not aware how big these rocks can be, but we found these ones accidently. you walk around and try to get on them and feel claustrophobia in between them while following given paths. however, this was funny trip to an unexpected place.


climbing a mountain is easy if there are stairs so here I am. there is a flag on the top so this must be the place.


whenever we are in the pfaffenthal there is a black cat appearing, meowing like a baby and being not sure if cuddling is requested or not. during the jazz and blues rally this white beauty appeared near the clausen, also quite loud meowing, running around without a master plan realizable… however, cats are for everyone, they need to be cuddled.


downtown is a café with long queue of people in front of it. well, actually they are not interested in tea or coffee, next to people there are about 15 cats in the room, drowsing or being cuddled by the customers. we had to get in of course. as you see, the cats are going everywhere and they are all pretty relaxed in the trouble. I don´t know if this concept convinces me but it is worth the experience.


back home we he had fri(e)da (I never know how to write her name properly and she would not tell) as guest for two weeks. she joined me on my couch with my broken leg back in summer 2017.


i´ve been to museum folkwang again to check out the newly arranged collection. this piece has become quite quickly a favourite: jim dines: 'two thieves, one liar'. more soon! (this is also calssified as 'cat content', enjoy!)


the studio is to work on ‘if and only if’, the show to open november 11 at SG1 in duisburg. you have the chance to access the reader via /CAMP (there won´t be catalogue but a reader helping you to get the concept of the exhibited works…). plus there are some further shows and festivals to be prepared. cross you fingers.

studio.svenpiayda.com
/CAMP



studio. busy.

studio.svenpiayda.com


sven piayda
# H O W D E E P I S Y O U R L O V E
galerie tellerrand, gelsenkirchen
2015-11-01 — 2016-01-31 (archive)

sven piayda @ galerie tellerand
#howdeepisyourlove (archive of complete online show)
galerie tellerand


karla köhler with sven piayda | k-city
HOCHHAUS - HÜTTE - HINTERHOF
DER REITZ DES UNGELIEBTEN
galerie treppenhaus, erlangen
2019 permanent exhibition

opening hours mo—fr 9am to 8 pm
consulting and sale wed 4 to 6pm
and by appointment
fon 0177 7299 665

galerie treppenhaus
henkestraße 91
91052 erlangen

galerie-treppenhaus.de






questions? complaints? ideas? contributions? collaborations?
click here