CCB Magazine

Nachgefragt with Jack Wolf: On the tracks of the new silk road - from Hamburg to China and back

Photo: Jack Wolf

Route unknown. The only thing the artist Jack Wolf knew: These tracks lead from Hamburg to China. Media artist Jack Wolf and his artist friend Paul Kolling had big plans. They were on a research trip documenting the track route from Hamburg to China. Jack tells us about the project planning up to the drastic escape from Covid-19 in China and we were able to support him in terms of project funding search and applications.

Kreativ Kultur Berlin: Hello Jack, please introduce yourself. Who are you and what do you do?

Jack Wolf: I'm Jack Wolf, I work mainly with film and media art and I've been living in Berlin for almost eight years now. I'm actually an artist, but also a researcher working with technological processes. Originally I come from England. To be more precise, I lived in London and Brighton.

Kreativ Kultur Berlin: Your current research project involved a long trip to China and back. Please tell us something about this project.

Jack Wolf: It involved a very elaborate, long research trip supported by the Goethe Institute and the Hamburg Department of Culture in 2019. Using a custom-made GPS device, through infrastructure datasets and satellite image databases, we managed to track the trains running across a northern Eurasian land bridge. This land bridge is a rail route for freight traffic connecting Europe and China, it is also called the new Silk Road. However, the exact route is unknown. Because there are hardly any clues where exactly the rails run from China, through Russia, Kazakhstan and finally to Europe. We then reconstructed this network for the first time using the GPS device, which was developed for us by a company from Shenzhen. We wanted to document our research development technically, but also artistically, and recorded everything with film and photographs.

Installation sight. Photo: Stephan Baumann

Kreativ Kultur Berlin: So the research project is exclusively about the train route?

Jack Wolf: No, the subject is much deeper. It is about much more than just an unknown rail line. With it, we associate themes of how China stands as a major economic power or the reasons and problems of a huge infrastructure project. It is about power and counter-power, about a complex topic that such a bridge only mirrors, and that we connect through research and art.

Kreativ Kultur Berlin: What were the ups and downs of your journey? What were the biggest hurdles of the project?

Jack Wolf:First of all, it was a great experience to get to know the country and its people. From the east coast to Kazakhstan's capital Astana, we received a very warm welcome. I also got in touch with other artists and visited art institutions. I think the biggest hurdle then was the trip itself. You have to imagine that we roamed China, Kazakhstan, and a lot of mountains. On top of that, we had to leave Hong Kong early, after the first Covid 19 cases appeared. We were overjoyed to have the privilege of getting back to Europe quickly. Unfortunately, the joy did not last long because, as is well known, Corona spread to Europe and across the world two or three weeks later.

Kreativ Kultur Berlin: Before the trip, you came to us for advice at the Kulturförderpunkt. What questions did you come to us with?

Jack Wolf:I was primarily concerned with funding and networking opportunities. At the beginning, we first talked about the rough structures of the project. Among other things, we discussed the cost and financing plan, i.e. how much money we need and where we can get it. Then we dealt with the funding applications. They are always very abstract. You never know exactly who will read them. I had a lot of questions: How detailed should I describe my project? In what tone should I write the whole thing? How much technical stuff do I have to explain so that others can understand it? Basically, the cultural sponsorship point showed me some foundations and sponsorship programs, such as those from the Goethe Institute, that I didn't know yet and where else I could apply.

Kreativ Kultur Berlin:What did you take away from the consultation?

Jack Wolf:I received optimistic feedback about my plan to carry out the research. That encouraged me to continue. It just helped me to have someone on the outside, who is not a close friend, expertly looking over the applications again. Andrzej even called me back on an outstanding question, which was very helpful. I felt like I just had someone by my side who could help me with problems and uncertainties. For example, my native language is not German, so it is sometimes difficult for me to understand the official German.

Kreativ Kultur Berlin:To what extent did the consulting help you in terms of contacts and networks abroad?

Jack Wolf:The Kulturförderpunkt helped me a lot here. In addition to financial issues, I was able to expand my network in Asia. Especially in China, the contact to the web portal china residencies was an advantage.

Kreativ Kultur Berlin:How exactly did you finance your project afterwards? 

Jack Wolf:We financed the trip through project grants. We received positive responses to two applications, from the Goethe Institute on the one hand, and from the Hamburg Department of Culture on the other - Hamburg, because my companion Paul Kolling is an artist in Hamburg and the mysterious train connection we documented ends in the Hanseatic city. I have to say, however, that such a project is difficult to realize with the current funding possibilities. It is still quite difficult to get support for an artistic project that is focused on research. However, together with Andrzej, we managed to break down the idea of the big picture and organize the parts of it into specific fundable packages. In addition to the project funding, we also invested our own money, regardless of the time and energy that must be spent as well.

Kreativ Kultur Berlin:If you had to give a tip to someone who also wants to implement such a project, what would it be? What mistakes should you avoid?

Jack Wolf:I would advise everyone to apply too much rather than too little. I have also experienced that I never received the entire possible funding amount. So, it is important not to rely only on one type of funding. It is also helpful or maybe even necessary to have your own money to invest. Besides the financial aspect, I would also advise everyone to build up a broad, international network. For example, our contacts with Chinese logistics companies helped us immensely in tracking train traffic.

Photofilm in detail. Photo: Stephan Baumann
 

Kreativ Kultur Berlin:Where will the result of your project be seen?

Jack Wolf:We will share our findings and images of the research trip in different ways. We would like to exhibit an installation with some of the pictures, and a book will also be produced. Currently I am still working on a short film.

Kreativ Kultur Berlin:What will happen next? Will there be more projects like this in the future?

Jack Wolf:At the moment, everything is still very uncertain. Due to Corona, I don't know how the cultural landscape will change. What I can say for sure is that I will continue to work on digital and media-related things.

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