INSTAL
LATION.
BELONGING, ongoing
- love together, hope together, create together -
3 hanging, s-shape Voile-fabric panels, pine bark, 5 synthetic moss stripes, 8 stools and sound.
dimension variable on site
BELONGING is a participatory installation and part of an ongoing project in the example of “Heilig-Kreuz” church Bottrop, Germany.
When people talk to each other, something fundamental happens: those who are allowed to talk and are listened to attentively and appreciatively not only feel seen, but also experience more joy, acceptance, emotional balance, and connectedness. Psychological research shows that the quality of listening is crucial. Even brief encounters have been shown to increase well-being. Listening is therefore a social act that measurably supports mental health and promotes community. (Sources 1-4) Today, we need more conscious and transparent communication in our interactions with one another. Based on my evaluation of my interactive installations to date, people increasingly long for love, acceptance, joy, exchange, and security. At its core, this begins when we are at peace and in touch with ourselves. The post-war generation in the Ruhr region received little social support on a psychological level. This installation provides an impetus for self-healing through mindfulness and collective understanding across generations. BELONGING sees itself as a contribution to questions of community and acceptance, which, through self-care, enables satisfaction, belonging, and new perspectives in equal dialogue.
For this newly conceived project, it is necessary to fill a post-war church building with new approaches as a place of encounter, beyond the Christian faith, that includes ALL people.
A safe space with new values, without exclusion of any groups, starting with what connects us all: mindfulness. BELONGING creates an immersive atmosphere in which the sensory perceptions in the room guide the invisible in interpersonal relationships into a feeling of memory.
1.Itzchakov & Weinstein, (2025) Journal of experimental social psychology, 117,1–13.
2. Lee, Platow & Cruwys, (2024) Research article, The british psychological society.
3. Itzchakov (2023) Abstract, National Libary of Medicine, Connection Heals Wounds: Feeling Listened to Reduces Speakers' Loneliness Following a Social Rejection Disclosure. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35726696
4. Itzchakov & Weinstein (2022)
Description
In the entrance area, visitors are greeted by a closed curtain with the words “create acceptance” printed on it. A three-minute performance video on a monitor shows them how they can imagine and carry out the participatory installation as an honest dialogue between two known/unknown persons spread across four positions.
In the main room, visitors can spend time in the meditative resonance room, where they can experience the sight, feel, smell, and sound of the elements earth, air, water, and nature.
The pine bark flooring creates a warm and calming feeling, which, in combination with the hanging moss strips, creates a grounding forest landscape. In the background, a sound recording with wind, water, and bird sounds plays quietly. Light shines gently through the airy cloud fabric panels placed in the center, creating an intimate atmosphere for conversation with its inviting shape. At the same time, four different pairs of conversation partners can find space on the seating distributed throughout the room and freely decide whether to engage in dialogue with a familiar or unfamiliar person. One person can sit down independently of the other and wait for their partner. The encounter takes place in a two-minute exchange: one person talks, the other listens, then they switch roles.
A safe space and quiet place of encounter, where the outside is brought inside and visitors are reminded in an honest, mindful way that they are part of the world.
BELONGING, 2025
Sound, 2025
2:47 minutes loop
