Pollen From Hazelnut Analysis

The final pieces in the exhibit will be Pollen from Hazelnut(1977) and Milkstone(1975) by the artist Wolfgang Laib. “A graduate in Medicine with a thesis on issues concerning drinking water in southern India- and thus on a matter of vast humanistic reach, involving the impact of nutrition on the individual and social body- Laib focuses his mind and devotes his existence to art as a study of life cycles and rhythms” (Codgonato). Like Lertchaiprasert, Laib’s practice is highly influenced by Eastern religions like Buddhism and Daoism. With his medical background and philosophical influences, Laib incorporates meditative rituals in his work and employs raw natural materials such as milk, pollen, beeswax, rice and marble.
In Pollen from Hazelnut, demonstrates Laib’s focus on dedicated labor

Using a white square piece of marble, Laib references the art institution, the white cube, as well as Greco-Roman marble sculptures, which are looked upon as one of the most beautiful pieces artworks of the ancient western world. In the marble square, Laib carves out a subtle dent in which he pours a shallow layer of milk. As time goes by, the milk eventually goes sour and gives off an aroma, changes consistency, and alters in appearance. Due to this, the sculpture itself ceases to be stagnant and becomes an ephemeral piece of work, with a definite beginning and end. Everyday when on display, the gallery attendants must replenish the milk. “Each Milkstone is different and reacts in its own way with the environment, creating a work that has its own time an life, renewed and differentiated every time it is recreated, in the certainty that nothing will ever be the same but at best similar, as in the chaos of existence” (Codgonato). This daily practice of renewal references Buddhist practices of daily meditation as well as the concept of