Michael Pröpper, DE
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The anthropocene metaphor may help to add a critical perspective to the quasi-religious status that an economic and monetary valuation of nature has gained recently, a fact that might turn out to be responsible for a profound decrease of our intrinsic values of nature and the planet. The dominant discourse about unlimited consumption as a driver of growth involves the commodifica-tion and marketization of nature. Nature is suddenly being treated as the biggest enterprise on earth – with geologically visible effects that lead to the coining of the term ‘Anthropocene’.
Among the possibilities to react, my take on this subject is one of a revaluation of nature – in the form of an interactive installation. The visitor will be involved in an interaction with a domesticated nature that turns the roles upside down and invites repentance or at least generosity. The suggested installation contains a traditional christian confessional (Beichtstuhl) with left and right entrances for two sinners. Instead of a priest there is a tree planted in the middle compartment. Visitors of the exhibition are invited to kneel down alternatingly in one of the boxes separated from the public through curtains and confess their environmental sins to the tree - which will (hopefully) absolve them silently. WORKS "The Tree Confessional (Der Baum-Beichtstuhl)" Installation Materials: Wood, curtains, 1 tree Measurements: 3x2x1m CONTACT [email protected] www.michaelproepper.de |
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