SEP 5 –  SEP 9, 2022

hazmatlab x tokonoma x gudskul
at documenta fifteen

Tokonoma
Frankfurter Straße 60
34121 Kassel

Fridericianum
Friedrichsplatz 18
3411 7 Kassel

Thoughts on Slime

The main component of slime, besides water (H2O), is PVA (polyvinyl alcohol), a synthetically produced thermoplastic. PVA can only be synthesized with the help of fossil raw materials. PVA is tasteless, odorless, film-forming, emulsifying and adhesive. It has a high tensile strength and flexibility. PVA dissolves in water, is non-toxic and is also partially decomposed by microorganisms in wastewater treatment plants. Studies on skin and mucous membrane compatibility showed no negative effects. Nevertheless not enough knowledge has been acquired on the environmental impact of PVA yet.

The substance enters wastewater not only from water-soluble packaging of dishwasher tabs or detergent. It also enters the environment through textiles, adhesives and cosmetic products such as hairspray, contact lenses and feminine hygiene products. PVA is also approved in the EU as a food additive e.g. in the form of film coating of tablets or artificial casings. PVA is further used in industry as a coating, binder, sealant, surface refiner, mold release agent, and as a sizing agent in paper production. Last but not least, every € banknote is covered with a thin layer of PVA as a protective film against wear and tear.

PVA is a matter that we encounter almost everywhere in our daily live because she is extremely versatile and can therefore be used in many different ways. PVA rarely plays the leading role but is the substance that either connects or separates and protects in the background. These characteristics qualify PVA for us as a very exciting sculptural material. PVA in the form of slime combines these contradictory properties, everything that slime embraces remains protected from external influences, but slime will also permanently change and occupy what lies underneath. A new body is created, a hybrid. Slime brings forth something new, is invasive, slow in its movement but unstoppable, and as a contemporary primordial soup it makes us reflect on the time we live in. Slime remains an autonomous material that we, as artists, can only guide, but not shape.

During our residency at Tokonoma we will cook 400 liters of slime in our temporary slime lab. Together with Gudskul and Tokonoma we are going to slime collectively at the Fridericianum.

The processes are public, updates daily on Instagram.

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