The Poppy Moment

The artist Désirée Wickler creates an archeology of the future, a look back at a fictional moment when humanity took a different direction.

Her “Poppy Moment” stands for the moment of upheaval in a near utopian future.

By creating a myth contrary to the perceived tendency (colonization, war rhetoric, conquest of space by humans as the dominant species) the possibility arises to dream up a different social vision.

A place to worship, consisting of a relic of today (monolith of building formwork elements) and octagonally arranged floating papers, through which light sometimes shines, is witness to this newly awakened movement. Here space is created for reflection and the flow of thoughts.

The organic poppy capsule is the symbol of a bright new beginning, the blown seed stands for the distribution of knowledge, but also for the return to the importance of individual elements in an ecosystem and the realization that even small interventions can have far-reaching consequences.

The story of the creation myth on old construction drawings, connection to our past and belief of eternal growth (myth of today’s capitalism) shows the way to a new understanding of man and nature. Individuality is not defined by single performance, but collaboration creates the freedom for personal identity.

6 drawings (mixed media, gold) on old building plan, 84 x 84 cm, plexiglas 117 x 117 cm, 2022

8 hanging papers handmade in collaboration with Gerard Paperworks (Rheinbach), 100 x 140 cm, 2022
Monolith (elements of construction formworks), 90 x 90 x 220 cm
Sound Installation: Pierrick Grobéty
Text: Thomas Bouchet (historian)

Process of creation

At the artstis workshop of John Gerard, Rheinbach. Photographs: Courtesy of gerard paperworks 2022