In the freezing January air of Eskişehir, we take refuge in the OMM (Odunpazarı Modern Museum) building, enveloped in Odunpazarı’s distinctive wooden texture. In the museum’s corridors, which masterfully invite daylight inside, we are currently witnessing that plastic is not merely waste but a living, transforming alphabet. Bearing the signature of Berlin-based artist Daniel Knorr, “Calligraphic Wig” turns the rawest and most flawed states of material into masterpieces.
Art That Begins Where Machines Fall Silent
Knorr’s installation sprouted not in an artist’s studio but amid the noise of plastic recycling factories in Hong Kong. “Calligraphic Wig” focuses on forms that spontaneously freeze in those out-of-control moments when the rhythm of machines falters and production is interrupted.
These “faulty” plastic masses sometimes resemble
calligraphic letters of an as-yet-undeciphered civilisation,
sometimes organic creatures living in the darkest depths of the ocean,
sometimes cosmic remnants fallen to Earth from a distant planet.
The artist does not merely exhibit industrial waste; he bestows upon it an identity and aesthetic weight.
From Car Paints to Natural Forms: The Colour Palette of Time
One of the most striking aspects of the installation is the colour choice on the pieces. Knorr has coated some forms with specific colours used in the automotive industry from the 1970s to the present. This choice transforms the exhibition from a mere environmental inquiry into a chronological link between industrial production and consumption history.
On the other side, pieces left in their natural forms without any intervention showcase the uncanny yet fascinating raw power of plastic. This contrast plunges the viewer into a paradox about how “organic” the material’s transformation process can be.
Visiting and Ethical Interrogation
“Calligraphic Wig” offers the viewer not only visual pleasure; it invites us to confront overproduction, waste material, and our ecological footprint. By elevating those random moments that machines see as “errors,” the artist deliberately blurs the boundaries between aesthetics and ethics.
Venue: Odunpazarı Modern Museum (OMM), Eskişehir
Dates: 25 October 2025 — 21 March 2026
This exhibition awaits those seeking a new language for art and nature in Eskişehir until 21 March. It is a wonderful opportunity to see how plastic—one of the modern world’s greatest problems—transforms into an enchanting poem in an artist’s hands.
