Valerie Wolf Gang: Symbioparasitica

Valerie Wolf Gang: Symbioparasitica
16 March–7 April 2024
Museum Schloss Fechenbach, Dieburg, Germany

Project Symbioparasitica will be exhibited for the first time in Germany at the Schloss Fechenbach Museum, Dieburg, as part of the exhibition Digital Forest, opening on Saturday, 16 March 2024 at 3 p.m. and on view until 7 April 2024.

The exploration of the identity of the subject, the body and the skin, the largest human organ, which acts as the interface between the inner and the outer world, starts from the personal experience of the intermedia artist Valerie Wolf Gang. For health reasons, she had to have a large part of her skin removed, which sparked her interest in this field of research. With her project "Anthropomorphising the Topography of the World", the artist started to virtualise and digitally archive the environments she found herself in with her "new" body.

In her latest art project Symbioparasitica, Valerie Wolf Gang goes one step further. The gallery visitor is no longer a passive observer; he or she becomes an active participant in the virtual landscape created by the artist. Every step or action leaves traces that have a lasting impact on this landscape. The virtual forest into which the artist invites us is both singular and dynamic, remote yet recognisable. This space is not only a metaphor for nature, but also a space in which the artist spends a great deal of time in reflection and research.

The Symbioparasitica project places the visitor in a virtual space where they can leave traces with their every step and action. These traces manifest themselves as the growth of organic masses, which are modelled on the texture of human skin. As in the real world, the human presence in this virtual environment leaves lasting effects. The project deals with the dynamics between man and nature, the individual and the collective, technology and the environment. Symbioparasitica thus raises fundamental questions about the sustainability, interdependence and ultimate vulnerability of our existence on Earth. It is a resonant look at how we humans are part of nature, and at the same time the irreversible impact we have on the environment.

More:
https://iwz.waldkunst.com/524-1-digitaler-wald-kunst-natur-wandel