The Wittemoor

​

The Wittemoor was Symposium Moor 1992 's primary project site.

Located between Hude and Oldenburg near the Weser River, Germany.

The Wittemoor is part of a larger complex of moors (bogs) that stretches

across northern Germany, The Netherlands and Denmark. Other nature

protected areas, such as Teuffelsmoor (Devil's Moor) near Hamburg as

well as numerous moors already endangered or destroyed by commercial

exploitation were also used as research for the project.

​

         The concept of this month-long festival was to gather a select

group (10) of European and American performance and installation artists

to live on, investigate and then respond to environmental issues evoked

by the delicate ecology and unusual geographical-archaeological sites on

the Wittemoor . The result was a series of solo and collaborative works

performed/executed on the site and in the local museums and arts

communities of Oldenburg, Germany. Additionally, the collected results

(video, audio and photo documentation) of this month-long festival

became part of a traveling exhibition and a catalogue.

​

         In the spirit of approaching the environmental issues beyond

politicized solutions, the creation of Symposium Moor 1992 presented a

unique opportunity for works at a state-designated preservation site of

archaeological importance. Wittemoor includes the location of an ancient

roadway, dating from the 3rd Century BC, built in the area inhabited by

the early Celtic peoples as part of their routes to the northern territories.

The moors themselves offer a rare and dynamic landscape site for

performance; but it is the remains of the ancient roads and the other

human artifacts, male & female totems, that are the most unique and

interesting. The bog has preserved the original wood roads used to cross

the moor. Two distinct styles of construction were used - one a log road

(Bohlenweg), a wooden trestle path, the other a road on stilts (Pfahlweg),

a stilt path. Pervading the whole site is a sense of depth in history, a

preservation by sinking - submerging in the medium of the moor/bog itself.