Studio Visit: Denise Flamme

SLEEK: When I look at your work, even though it is multimedia, it is striking that your main focus is on sculpture. How do you describe your sculptures?

Denise Flamme: Yes, sculpture is at the core of my work. Our physical connection to the world explains why objects with volume and diverse materials play such a crucial role in art and also in my practice. Sculptures interact with us in a tangible way, we perceive and physically engage with them, so sculptures tend to create interlinks to our abstract imagination. In a way, I am drawn to shaping a physical world that doesn’t exist as such but confront us and evoke questions and desires.

S: Your sculptures are filled with a diversity of materials, creating an interplay between latex, silicone, ceramics, metal, and more. What led you to assemble this army of materials?

DF: Clearly, because I have explored a wide range of materials and mastered techniques such as welding, plasma cutting, ceramics, and mold making, it allows me to easily transform ideas that initially emerge in my mind into tangible objects. I often construct a sculpture from multiple materials to create an intense tension between the various components and their distinct textures. As latex and silicone oscillate between natural and artificial qualities, their futuristic aesthetic effectively translates my speculative worlds. Meanwhile, ceramic, an essential material in high-performance technology, lends itself perfectly to integrating repetitive forms into my technologically inspired hybrids. Each material in my work takes on a specific role: latex and silicone, frequently used in artistic practice, naturally assume the function of imitating skin with its smooth and elastic texture. Metal, on the other hand, through its solidity, serves as the structure, the skeleton, of my sculptures.

S: Your work explores the interplay between human and non-human entities through technology, shaping speculative futures that reveal the systems governing socio-ecological processes. How do you define technology, and which technologies currently influence your practice?

DF: I see technology first and foremost as a tool, an instrument that allows us to understand nature and living beings in order to expand their capabilities and support them. However, technology is no longer just an extension of human capability; it has become an autonomous force that shapes our environments, behaviors, and even our ideas of progress. This duality interests me: on the one hand, technology promises solutions for example ecological crises, yet it is also deeply interlinked in systems of extraction and exploitation. There are not only drones that drop bombs, but also those that distribute seeds in degraded landscapes as innovative reforestation companies do by leveraging drones, AI and GIS. In this context, I am particularly concerned with the use of automats for ecological restoration, biomimetic and regenerative technologies, methods inspired by natural processes to create adaptive and resilient systems. A major influence on my work also comes from the ideas of Bruno Latour, Donna Haraway, and many structuralists. These influences, along with my approach of questioning whether technology can act as a mediator rather than a force of domination, lead me to develop sculptures that abstractly embody these concepts.

S: Your background in industrial design is likely the reason why you often bring objects and devices to life in your work, almost as if you’re creating innovations for the future. What types of imagery do you feature in your 3D animations exactly?

DF: Film is a great medium to portray fictional ideas and explaining complex interconnections. It expands my other works into the digital space, making them accessible on another level. My latest film, which I created with my brother Marcel Flamme, who is a 3D artist, envisions a future where biomechanical robots attempt to regenerate the environment through reproduction and extinction, raising questions about the limits of human intervention. The sequel extends this narrative, exploring the relentless search for new energy sources. Surely, my additional background as an industrial designer, where I worked on adaptive technologies, plays a role in how I integrate this knowledge into a more comprehensive perspective, something I can implement more freely in art.

S: It feels like everything has the potential to move, as your sculptures have joints and already reveal the technology behind each part. Is a move toward incorporating kinetic elements in your work coming soon?

DF: In fact, the latest series of sculptures will be powered by motors, and certain elements of the Sky-Feeder system already incorporate moving parts, which became part of the Spy on Me #5 festival at HAU last year. My father was an engineer, and my siblings and I essentially absorbed his knowledge with our ‘mother’s milk’. Even during my studies of visuell arts and industrial design, I created kinetic artworks. For me, it’s incredibly exciting to choreograph each hybrid, giving them even more distinctive characteristics. In my mind, they are already in motion, and I want the viewer to experience that too.

S: Since 2018, you’ve been collaborating with Karuna eG, e.V., an organization that supports people in need in Berlin. What lessons have you learned from your work with social cooperatives, and how do you integrate this experience into addressing the challenges you face in your studio?

DF: Even during my two-year stay in Marseille, I carried out artistic interventions with Art et Development in the northern districts. Upon arriving in Berlin, my brother Pascal Flamme a product developer and I began collaborating with the social cooperative Karuna eG, e.V. on various pilot projects addressing homelessness. Since then, we have conducted field research, provided prevention assistance, purpose-built structures and more. Today, I dedicate my Mondays to working at the Karuna Pavilion at Boxhagener Platz, where we open our doors to those in need and where I sometimes experiment with artistic interventions. This work enriches me personally and stands in clear contrast to my studio practice. I am confronted with harsh realities: frustration, neglect, and a pervasive sense of hopelessness. At the same time, these experiences and perspectives serve as material for future artistic projects, not as mere documentation, but as a deeper exploration of questions around social resilience, empowerment and boundary-pushers.