Mankind’s relationship with nature is subject to continual change. But never before in our planet’s history have the changes caused by mankind’s impact on nature had such far-reaching repercussions as they do today. The exhibition Visions of Nature has taken twenty-five artistic positions by international and Austrian artists working in the medium of photography and video to examine the way in which our relationship with nature is currently reflected from an artistic point of view. They address the theme of nature and the ways of representing and depicting nature against the backdrop of the Anthropocene, the first epoch in the Earth’s history to be shaped by mankind’s impact.
All the works are situated within the interplay between nature as a place of longing and nature as a resource, and anchored in the juxtaposition between vulnerable eco-system and a force of nature capable of enduring all. They demonstrate that the photographic depiction of nature and landscape as a construct shapes our perception of nature; they also illustrate the ways in which we human beings approach, and distance ourselves from, nature. The spectrum of works on show (ranging from Darren Almond to Anna Reivilä) also serves to highlight just how changeable our relationship with nature actually is. Nature is not a place that stands detached and aloof from cultural contexts; rather, nature and culture are inseparably linked.
With works by Darren Almond, Rodrigo Braga, Vanja Bucan, Jennifer Colten, Andreas Duscha, Tomas Eller, Michael Goldgruber, Andreas Gursky, Ilkka Halso, Roni Horn, Michael Höpfner, Axel Hütte, Adam Jeppesen, Jaakko Kahilaniemi, Mathias Kessler, Claudia Märzendorfer, Ola Lanko, Myoung Ho Lee, Ralo Mayer, Simone Nieweg, Charly Nijensohn, Donna Ong, Anna Reivilä, Bruno v. Roels, Michael John Whelan
Curated by Verena Kaspar-Eisert
Exhibition 13 September 2017 - 18 February 2018. Kunst Haus Wien, Untere Weißgerberstraße 13 - 1030 Wien (Austria). T. +43 1 712 04 91. Opening hours : Daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
