Earthbound - In Dialogue with Nature
European Capitals of Culture, Möllerei Esch-Belval, LuxembourgCurator: Sabine Himmelsbach & Boris Magrini
Artists: Refik Anadol, Donatien Aubert, melanie bonajo, Tega Brain, Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács, Erik Bünger, María Castellanos & Alberto Valverde, Gil Delindro, Gilberto Esparza, Fragmentin, Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Marc Lee, Marcus Maeder, Mary Maggic, Mélodie Mousset, Sabrina Ratté, Scenocosme : Grégory Lasserre & Anaïs met den Ancxt, Rasa Smite & Raitis Smits, Sissel Marie Tonn & Jonathan Reus
Used to Be My Home Too, Screenshot
Marc Lee, Used to Be My Home Too, Net-based installation, endless
The title of this work by Marc Lee takes the perspective of extinct animal species in relation to their former environments, which have become subject to human cultivation. For his net-based installation, Lee uses live data from the online project iNaturalist, which publishes images of flora and fauna taken by naturalists and private individuals around the globe. By means of the images’ geolocation data, these live images and observations appear at their real-time locations on Google Earth and are linked to the Red List (RedList.org) of endangered species. With each post, the locations of new observations are displayed live on Google Earth and enhanced with related information about extinct or endangered animal species. Instead of idyllic nesting sites and habitats, viewers are faced with asphalt deserts or natural reservoirs in obvious decline. The work is a homage to the biodiversity of our planet and illustrates how it is threatened by human activity.
Earthbound - In Dialogue with Nature
Curators: Sabine Himmelsbach and Boris Magrini with the support of Yulia Fisch
Global warming is rapidly progressing. It has been factually proven to be largely man-made and that human activity heavily influences biological, geological and atmospheric processes on earth. The exhibition Earthbound presents 18 artworks by internationally renowned artists that spark reflection on urgent environmental themes, especially in relation to the complex relationship between humans and the ecosystem.
The works on view span from tentative blueprints for solutions and alternative models for a more sustainable coexistence with our environment to inquiries into the use of digital tools for a sustainable treatment of our resources. Accordingly, artistic practices employing media, technologies and technoscientific methods stand at the centre of the exhibition. Their creative application of digital media and new technologies – from artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), interactive and immersive installations, multimedia sculptures and video installations – invites the audience to experience and engage.
In concert, these works critically challenge the notion that humans are at the centre of creation, encouraging us to surrender our egocentric perspective and rediscover our relationship with nature on this planet. The exhibition title draws attention to the essential fact that we only have this one earth. Where better to stage our connection with it than in the former warehouse for the raw materials in Esch-Belval?
Earthbound: In Dialogue with Nature is organised in collaboration with HEK (House of Electronic Arts) and is curated by Sabine Himmelsbach, director of HEK and Boris Magrini, Head of Programme at HEK.
Exhibited Artwork
Used to Be My Home Too
Real-time cartographyThis experiment shows photos of animals, fungi and plants that are uploaded right now by unknown users to iNaturalist.org via mobile phone. On Google Earth, these are mapped at the exact location where they were photographed. In addition, taxonomically similar species that occurred in the same country and became extinct within the last 30 years are automatically added in real time via RedList.org. Used more …
HEK, Basel
Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich
G.MAP, Gwangju
Publication
ESCH 2022, HeK Basel, Earthbound: In Dialogue with Nature
Hatje CantzBook, color, 160 pages, 17 x 23.5 cm
2022
English, French
Ed. Sabine Himmelsbach, Françoise Poos, text(s) by Nancy Braun, Yulia Fisch, Sabine Himmelsbach, Beat Jans, Boris Magrini, Sam Tanson, Yvonne Volkart, graphic design by Rutger Fuchs
ISBN 978-3-7757-5240-4
hatjecantz.de
Exhibition Brochure DE, EN, FR
Earthbound—In Dialogue with Nature gathers forward-thinking works that propose alternative ways of shaping the complex relationship between human activities and the ecosystem—visionary approaches that emphasize the need for dialogue through new forms of interaction and consciously intervene in the current debate to initiate change. Created in collaboration with HEK, Haus der elektronischen Künste―a young institution from Basel dedicated to digital culture―and curated by HEK director Sabine Himmelsbach and Boris Magrini, this exhibition demonstrates that precisely where other strategies fail, art can open up new perspectives.
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