Universen in der Nussschale

In the organizer's words:

August 30 - October 13, 2024
World Art Room
Exhibition
With Tomas Kleiner, Timo Kube, Gabriela Oberkofler, Magali Reus and Helmut Schweizer
Curated by Janine Blöß and Thomas W. Rieger

Opening hours Thu - Sun 2 - 6 pm
Free admission.

Mosses and lichens are living microcosms. As pioneer plants and specific biocoenoses, they establish entire ecological systems. Hidden from the naked eye, on closer inspection they reveal intricate universes and highly complex biotopes. What lies behind these seemingly inconspicuous and yet omnipresent, resistant and life-sustaining creatures?

Mosses were the first plants on land to emancipate themselves from the algae in the water around 400 million years ago. They laid the foundation for flora and fauna on our planet. Preferring to live in humid areas, they also conquer barren mountain and desert regions or even urban spaces between the paving stones. They absorb large quantities of water in a short time and photosynthesize without roots. Frozen, they can outlive their own lifespan, thaw hundreds of years later and continue to live unharmed.

Lichens are closely interwoven communities of algae, bacteria and fungi that can be found almost everywhere. Even on hostile surfaces such as rocks, desert sand, even on asphalt or street lamps, they form small living worlds. As a collaborative association of the most diverse species, they often represent the only resilient form of life in barren environments. Closely connected to each other, they defy all adversities and often live for hundreds, sometimes even over 1000 years.

Mosses and lichens form shelters for the smallest microorganisms, fertile carpets that provide food and establish life in the most hidden corners of the world. This interplay of interwoven relationships, resistant resilience and complex nutrient cycles are the subject of artistic exploration. The smallest and at the same time delicately differentiated elements, which constantly create and maintain new worlds of life, are the starting point of the exhibition.
The artists Tomas Kleiner, Timo Kube, Gabriela Oberkofler, Magali Reus and Helmut Schweizer use installation, sculpture, drawing, writing, photography and film to transform the exhibition spaces into a living ecosystem - microscopically small and universally connecting at the same time.

Supporting program for the exhibition

Thu, August 29, 2024, 6 pm
Opening of the exhibition

Sat, September 14, 2024
11 am - 1 pm and 2 pm - 4 pm
Excursion to the Urdenbacher Kämpe, guided tour of "The hidden world of lichens" by Dr. nat. Andreas Engelen.
Limited participants, registration at termin@weltkunstzimmer.de
Participation fee 5€

Fri, September 27, 2024, 6 p.m.
Talk "Mosses & Lichens" with Dr. Dorothee Killmann (biologist, Univ. Koblenz), roundtable on art & ecology with the artists and Prof. Christian Berger (art historian, Univ. Siegen) and book presentation Sensibilities by Timo Kube

Sun, October 6, 2024, 3 pm
Curator's tour through the exhibition

Fri, October 11, 2024, 7 pm
8th Urban Space Video Walk, "Interspaces"