Folke Köbberling: Mash & Heal

Munich will be the setting for an installation by Berlin-based artist Folke Köbberling. The project addresses themes of mobility and urban sealing challenges. Mash & Heal aims to deconstruct the symbol of urban mobility while raising awareness of environmental and climate protection.

For the art installation Mash & Heal, Folke Köbberling will place three large-scale replicas of SUVs, at three inner-city locations frequented by many citizens on a daily basis. These SUVs are made of compostable, renewable raw materials such as wool, wood, soil, seeds, and clay, and will decompose over twelve months. During this material metamorphosis, they will slowly transform into “healing beings,” with the wool stabilizing the soil and the plants breaking down the surface.

After a year, a desealing performance will take place, where volunteers will escort the now-composted SUVs in a procession reminiscent of Bavarian Good Friday or Corpus Christi processions to a collectively de-sealed area. The route will be closed to car traffic specifically for this procession. The procession symbolizes the pseudo-religious worship of cars and ironically mimics it.

The process—from the decomposition of the SUVs to the de-sealing and the procession—will be documented. The project aims to spark a discussion on the use of public spaces, the impacts of sealing, and the future design of urban mobility. Through creative engagement with mobility and environmental themes in the form of ever-changing sculptures, Köbberling hopes to contribute to a more sustainable and livable city with Mash & Heal.

Folke Köbberling
Folke Köbberling develops intervention models for urban spaces, repurposing existing structures to subtly and often humorously question conventional approaches to urban architecture. Her work explores concepts of communal living and capitalist-dominated urban structures of housing, work, and mobility.

She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions: Jack Hanley Gallery, NYC; Schaustelle of the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich; Kunstverein Kassel; Museo El Eco/Mexico City (2017); and Kunstverein Wolfsburg (2020). Group exhibitions include Martin Gropius Bau, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, ZKM Karlsruhe, Lentos Museum, and Ruhrtriennale 2012. Köbberling has taught at institutions such as the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena; Metropolitan University in London; Berlin University of the Arts; University of Applied Arts Vienna; and Wayne State University, Michigan. Since 2016, she has been a professor of artistic design and head of the Institute for Architecture-Related Art at TU Braunschweig. folkekoebberling.de.

Opening: Thursday, September 26, 6pm
Opening remarks: City Councillor Dr. Florian Roth on behalf of the Lord Mayor of the City of Munich; Anton Biebl, Head of the Department of Arts and Culture of the City of Munich; and a Representative of Public Art München Schleißheimerstraße 6 / Dachauer Straße.

Accompanying program
Mash & Heal—Out of the Comfort Zone! Who Owns the Parking Space?
Talk: Friday, September 27, 2024, 6 PM, with Vanessa Carlow, Henriette Kuhrt, Lars Mentrup, Luise Rellensmann, and Folke Köbberling, VerhandelBar, Sandstr. 47a, 80335 Munich

Mash & Heal—The De-Sealing! The Boiling Asphalt
Talk: September 2025 with Elisabeth Endres, Felix Lüdicke, and Rafael Stutz

Mash & Heal—The Healing
Talk: October 2025 with Adrienne Goehler, Klaus Gutser, and Natalija Miodragović

Performance: De-sealing of a Parking Lot (Location: t.b.a.) and Procession of the Composted Cars: Mid-October 2025

Mash & Heal is part of the Public Art Munich in the SOLO segment and is funded by the Department of Arts and Culture of the City of Munich.