Verena Friedrich (*1981, Germany) is an artist creating time-based installations in which organic, electronic and sculptural media come into play. Theoretical research and practical hands-on experiments are the starting points of her artistic work. Furthermore, she is interested in direct interaction with scientists and hands-on work in the bioscientific laboratory. In recent years she has been teaching at the University of Art and Design Offenbach and the Bauhaus University Weimar, both in Germany. Together with two other colleagues she is currently running the ”exMedia Lab” (her focus being on DIY technologies, biological and ecological arts) at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne.

During her stay at Künstlerdorf Verena Friedrich set up her studio/creation lab in the exhibition hall, where she spent several days fine-tuning every detail of a system called ERBSENZÄHLER. The ERBSENZÄHLER (literally: pea counter; meaning: bean counter, nitpicker) is a system consisting of several installations in which pea seeds are individualized, analysed, classified and sorted. The project explores the increasing quantification of life through mathematical-technical procedures and systems, and the world view that goes along with it.