Dana Meyer at the Kunsthalle Erfurt

Dana Meyer at the Kunsthalle Erfurt
18. August 2022

The Erfurt Natural History Museum, one of the most notable German museums, celebrates its centenary this year. The Kunsthalle Erfurt celebrates with and
presents the exhibition "Reflecting Nature #2 - Artistic positions with reference to natural history".

The show uses contemporary positions to illuminate the relationship between scientific enthusiasm for natural history and art. Human eagerness to collect and taxidermy as cultural practices are brought into focus, botanical encyclopedias also (but not only) serve as a source of material, as do rare naturalia brought back from expeditions. Questions about our relationship with nature and our dealings with nature are repeatedly addressed - "Reflecting Nature #2" is therefore also intended as a suggestion to see and read what nature means to us in a new way. The Kunsthalle presents works by Dana Meyer, Konstantin Bayer, Anna Lena Grau, Gökçen Dilek Acay, Jens Hausmann, Julian Rauter and Julia Schmid.

In keeping with the centenary of the museum, Dana Meyer is showing her "South Pacific Expedition", a group of metal sculptures created in recent years: depictions of large fantasy insects that were caught on a fictitious South Pacific expedition between 1906 and 1910, classified, kept in antiquated glasses and neatly labeled.

The locations given (Sulavesi Utara 1906, Henderson Island 1909, Sorong 1906, Palmyra Atoll 1910) refer to remote places of longing, which most people only travel to in their imaginations throughout their lives. The attached dates create a further context of inaccessibility: A hundred years ago there were still paradises that no longer exist today.

The exhibition opens at 6 p.m. on Thursday 18 August.
Kunsthalle Erfurt, Fischmarkt 7
Tuesday to Sunday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m


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