#WHATREMAINS? Open Online Conversation About Collecting, Keeping and Letting Go

An open online conversation about things we probably should have thrown away long ago

What do we collect — and why? When does something become valuable to us? What turns an object into a keepsake? And why can it sometimes be so difficult to let things go?

It all began with a simple question: How much hair do we actually lose, and what is considered normal? This led interdisciplinary artist Anique Eberhart to start collecting her own shed hair. She observed, collected and examined the material. She arranged the hair, burned it and scanned the remains. Later, she also asked friends and family members whether they would collect their shed hair and give it to her.

This unusual engagement with such an everyday material offers a glimpse into a personal side of Anique's practice and serves as the starting point for an open conversation. Because perhaps there are things in all of our lives that we collect, preserve or keep: deliberately, almost incidentally, or without really knowing why.

How the online conversation works

1. Anique shares her work

To begin, Anique Eberhart will introduce her artistic exploration of shed hair: how the question of her own hair loss led her to start collecting it, how she investigated hair as a material, and what emerged from this process.

2. Questions, stories and exchange

Anique's work serves as the starting point for a shared conversation. At the heart of the discussion are the experiences and stories participants have around collecting and preserving things.

If you would like, you can talk about a collection of your own, show an object or material, or share a personal story. It could be a stone, old photographs, receipts, shells, clothing, packaging, letters — or something that might seem completely meaningless to someone else.

Participants can ask Anique questions, share their own experiences, respond to other people's stories, or simply listen.

Perhaps someone knows exactly why they have kept a particular object. Perhaps even they aren't entirely sure.

It is precisely these personal stories and different perspectives that are at the heart of the conversation.

There is no fixed role and no expectation to share anything. Each person can decide for themselves how much space they would like to take up in the conversation.

3. What do we preserve — and why?

From these personal stories, the conversation opens up into broader questions:

• Why do we keep certain things?

• When does something become meaningful to us?

• Does something need to have material value in order to be valuable to us?

• Do we give objects meaning — or do objects carry meaning within themselves?

• And what does what we choose to keep say about us?

These questions don't necessarily need to be answered. Instead, they are invitations to think together, encounter different perspectives, and perhaps reconsider our own relationships with the things we keep.

How would you like to participate?

When registering, you can already indicate how you expect you would like to participate in the conversation. This helps us plan the session and make sure there is enough time for everyone's contributions and stories.

You can …

• ask Anique questions about her work

• share something yourself — a collection, an object, a material, or a personal story

• actively participate in the conversation

• or simply listen

Open online conversation · approx. 90 minutes

Participation on a donation basis

Suggested contribution: €5–15