kühle wampe is an amorphous collective whose members – amelia seren roberts, dinosaur kilby, craig david parr, joshua heathcote & james poyser – are based between Nottingham, Birmingham, Leicester. Currently in residence at Nottingham Contemporary as schüle wampe, the group is taking a parasitic research-based approach to permeating the institution.
Find out more at www.kuhle-wampe.co.uk
How did you come to curating?
KÜHLE WAMPE DOES NOT, HAS NOT, AND WILL NEVER CURATE.
KÜHLE WAMPE IS AN AMORPHOUS COLLECTIVE WITH CAPACITIES TO ABSORB AND ADAPT. KÜHLE WAMPE PERFORM ANCIENT SYMBIOTIC BINDING RITUALS WITH ARTISTS AND COLLECTIVES TO FACILITATE LINKS BETWEEN EXISTING GROUPS AND RESOURCES; DRAWING PARALLELS WITH THE LIFE-CYCLE OF THE SLIME-MOULD.
KÜHLE WAMPE BEGAN AS ‘COOL BELLY WRESTLING’, AN ARTIST WRESTLING GROUP, BORN AMIDST SMOKE AND SUNDER AND DESTINED FOR FAILURE; FORMED AND NAMED BY A SHADOWY AGENT OF THE ARTIST-LED SCENE WHO HAS SINCE AUTO-EXILED.
A SUBSET OF KÜHLE WAMPE, SCHÜLE WAMPE IS A PARASITIC, KNOWLEDGE FEEDING, RESEARCH-BASED PRACTICE; SPAWNED WITHIN THE INSTITUTIONAL HOST.
How do you typically begin a project?
KÜHLE WAMPE SCREAM ENDLESSLY INTO THE VOID UNTIL HOPEFULLY, MONTHS LATER, ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE COLLECTIVE MAY RESPOND.
DUE TO OUR GEOGRAPHIC SPREAD WE OFTEN COMMUNICATE ASTRALLY OR THROUGH FACEBOOK MESSENGER. DUCT TAPE AND WORRY OFT MARK THE COMPLETION OF OUR LABOURS.
Who are you working with at the moment?
THE END OF SCHÜLE WAMPE: PART ONE IS NIGH. FACILITATED BY OUR RESIDENCY AT NOTTINGHAM CONTEMPORARY WE HAVE HARVESTED THE SOULS OF CHLOE LANGOIS, WAYNE BURROWS, RETRO BAR AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE, BLACK HOLE CLUB, DANK COLLECTIVE, 4/4 COLLECTIVE AND GEORGIA STEPHENSON.
UNDER A STRAWBERRY MOON WE WILL BE FUSING OUR MORTAL HUSKS INTO THE SHELL OF SOFT ESTATE. KÜHLE WAMPE WILL SUMMON NEW UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS IN THE NAME OF SCHÜLE WAMPE: PART TWO.
Tell us about the current or upcoming projects that you’re involved with.
WE HAVE OUR FINGERS/TENDRILS IN MANY PIES AND OUR TOES IN EVEN MORE PUDDINGS.
2020 IS THE YEAR OF THE WAMPE.
COMING EASTER 2020: DANK vs KÜHLE WAMPE. A TITANIC BATTLE OF THE COLLECTIVES.
NARRATOR: THE TIME HAS COME. THE COCK HAS CROWED. THE BELL HAS TOLLED. THE PLANETS HAVE ALIGNED. IT HAS LONG BEEN FORETOLD THAT WHEN THE 20 CROSSES THE 20 A NEW DAWN WILL SPRING.
TO FIND OUT MORE, VISIT OUR DIGITAL GRAVEYARD: www.kuhle-wampe.co.uk
How do you select the artists you work with?
WE RECEIVE AND FOLLOW PROPHECY FROM OUR DARK SLIME ENTITY. OUR COLLABORATIONS HAVE BEEN FORETOLD FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. WE ALSO FIND PEOPLE ON INSTAGRAM AND CATFISH ON TINDER.
What dates should we put in our calendars?
IN FEBRUARY WE WILL BE TERMINATING OUR FIRST ATTEMPT AT AN EXPERIMENTAL RESIDENCY SUB-LETTING PROGRAMME, CULMINATING IN A PUB QUIZ-GRADUATION WITH QUESTIONS WRITTEN BY THE ARTISTS WHO HAVE ASSIMILATED WITH US. THE ARTIFACTS OF THIS INCURSION WILL BE SHOWN IN GALLERY ZERO, NOTTINGHAM CONTEMPORARY.
ON AN UNCONFIRMED DATE AROUND EASTER KÜHLE WAMPE WILL VIOLENTLY DEFEND OURSELVES AGAINST SOUTHERNERS, ‘DANK COLLECTIVE’ IN A SERIES OF DANGEROUS AND POORLY CONSIDERED CHALLENGES.
SCHÜLE WAMPE WILL RESUME IN NEW ARTIST-LED SPACE, ‘SOFT ESTATE’ AND CONTINUE TO INVITE OTHER COLLECTIVES TO JOIN US IN SUB-LETTING THE RESIDENCY. DM US TO ASSIMILATE INTO THE HIVE MIND.
What or who are you really excited about?
WE ARE GIGA-BONE CRUSHINGLY EXCITED ABOUT HYPER-OBLITERATING DANK COLLECTIVE IN 2020. THEY HAVE IT COMING. WE WILL REIGN DOWN UNTHINKABLE DESTRUCTION-O-RAMA UPON THEIR SENSIBILITIES IF ANY DANK STRIKES ANY KÜHLE WAMPE, THEN ANYTHING IMPORTANT TO DANK, AND THE DANK CULTURE, AND DANK ITSELF, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.
Whose work or what space would you most like to curate?
WE ARE HUGE, HUGE, HUGH FANS OF BANSKY.
What do we need to see more of in the East Midlands?
DOOM & HOPE.
kühle wampe were interviewed in January 2020.
All images are courtesy of kühle wampe.