Workshop: working with natural latex

In the courtyard of the Nieuwe Veste, past and future meet. Here grow Breda’s oldest trees, monumental mulberries from the 18th century, right next to futuristic plants imagined by three contemporary artists.

Visual artists Silke Riis, Sien Custers and Merlijn Toby show how nature could develop in a distant future: strange, extraterrestrial, yet surprisingly recognizable. During the Breda Monthly History, this garden becomes a living timeline from the roots of 1780 to the speculative evolution of tomorrow.

Visitors can do more than just observe; they can also actively participate. In the workshop on 9 October, led by artist Silke Riis, participants learn to work with clay and natural latex. The results grow into new sculptures in the garden.

During this workshop, you will discover how to make recyclable moulds from raw clay, in which you can cast your own creations from natural latex. With the cast pieces, you form organic structures, leaves, and textures for future plants. Under Silke Riis’s guidance, your creation transforms into communal sculptures of small extraterrestrial plants, which then become part of the exhibition in the garden.

The workshop includes a short introduction about the artist’s practice and the theme of speculative evolution — a way to work with biology through a futuristic lens. The session is filled with practical tips on working with natural latex and making moulds with clay. You cut moulds and mix them with your own latex colours.

Due to drying time, the moulds must stay undisturbed overnight. The next day, Silke Riis adds the results to found branches, which are then placed in the exhibition. In this way, communal sculptures of small extraterrestrial plants are created, telling the story of a possible future together.