Infinite #2

Infinite Earth is pleased to present Infinite #2, a collaboration between artists Alona Harpaz and Mika Rottenberg, and the second in an ongoing series of artworks produced by the non-profit Foundation to support its humanitarian projects. Sales from each print will directly fund significant, sustainable improvements in the healthcare, education, and welfare of communities and individuals in need. In the photograph, artifice and nature blend into a surreal tableau, seen from above: a strange Zen garden made from wooden compartments of earth, sand, plants, and fountains. At the margins, the two artists appear occupied by a mysterious kind of work or play. Raw materials and rivers of pigment are sorted and channeled, suggesting a kind of machine for creative production. Combining facets of the artists’ formal interests, the photo series is one component of the Foundation’s complex activity. Established by the two artists in 2008, Infinite Earth uses funds raised through ambitious, experimental artworks produced especially for the Foundation. Its mission is to create alternative economic structures, independent from the art market’s standard means of production, that effect real change outside of the art sphere. To date, Infinite Earth has implemented the following programs: • In the north Indian village of Chamba in Uttaranchal, India: constructing new facilities for a hand-looming center that is now co-owned by local women and providing looming classes and employment for the community in concert with Dr. Prabhavati Dwabha, director of a local rural development project; • In Berlin, in collaboration with the Wadzek-Stiftung orphanage and children’s center: creating a hands-on weekly art education program for children • In Laxman Jula, Rishikesh, India: enabling the purchase of necessary supplies, such as new school desks for “Ramana’s Gardens,” a home and school for orphans and destitute children; • Also in collaboration with Dr. Prabhavati Dwabha of “Ramana’s Gardens,” creating a scholarship program which helped six exceptional young women in India pursue higher education; • In the remote mountain village of Hoonkhal, Their district, India: supporting the purchase of new floor mats and fresh water containers for an elementary school, followed in 2009 by funding books and new school uniforms for the academic year; • Donating1000€ to fund the travel of two women from Orissa, India to attend a course in Germany on Eco Village Design and Development for Urban and Rural Settlements through Gaia Education, a programme of the Global Eco Village Network; • In Namibia, in partnership with Project Kaokoland, e.V, supporting local orphanages and children’s education programs for rural villagers; • In Tiruvanamalai, a town in Tamil-Nadu, South India: providing 10 women with workspace, sewing machines, and 3 months paid training to acquire the skills of professional tailors, with the option to participate in the foundation’s fair trade production; • Also in the Tiruvanamalai workspace, conducting classes for deprived children, including English and art; while facilitating cross-cultural sharing, healing, and exchange with westerners, including teachers, visiting artists, and other volunteers. With this recent photograph, Infinite Earth returns to its original inspiration: using the abstract nature of art to address basic human needs. By purchasing an edition of Infinite #2, you have the opportunity to have an immediate and significant impact on the Foundation’s current initiatives and provide crucial funding for projects that will not continue without your support. When purchasing a print, you also have the option to contact the Foundation and designate your donation for a specific program. Photograph Details: Alona Harpaz and Mika Rottenberg, Infinite #2, 2011, Digital C-print, Edition of 60 Two sizes available: 60 x 60 cm / $600 USD and 100 x 100 cm / $1300 USD. For more information please email mikastudio100@gmail.com or visit http://www.infinite-earth.org