anachoresis

The term anachoresis is derived from the Greek verb anachorein (“to withdraw”). The practice of retreat has a long tradition in art history: from the social “retreat” of East Asian artist-scholars into a state of contemplation to the staging of self-isolation by Joseph Beuys or Tehching Hsieh. Often, this process is associated with a surge of creativity and self-reflection. But what happens when the retreat is carried out collectively and a group temporarily withdraws from society in order to create a space for communication and interaction? The artist persona REICHRICHTER explored these and other questions in her three-year project anachoresis: participation through fragments, which brought together artists from Germany and Taiwan in the form of a collective laboratory. This book continues the dialogue-based approach of the project and, through a series of theoretical essays, discusses the role that participatory art can play in today’s world.