In early summer 2011, German curator (and now Belgian gallerist) Benjamin Fleig
organized the international land art festival Grenzkunstroute: Übergriffe
(Border Art Route: Encroachments) in the border region of the Aachen Forest and Belgium.
Over the course of the summer, the event drew thousands of visitors. A catalog was
published to accompany it. The press, including the Aachener Nachrichten and
newspapers from Belgium and the Netherlands, focused on one particular artwork that
acted like a magnet. Everyone was talking about the Sperrmüllbaum (Bulky Waste Tree) …
Together with my team, I erected this attention-grabbing artwork in a forest clearing,
a sculpture made of bulky waste that we had collected beforehand and carried into the
woods. The mere fact that we were hauling bulky waste into the forest stirred up emotions
in many people, feelings I could certainly understand but could hardly soothe or appease.
I tried to communicate my intentions in advance, but the concept strained many people’s
imaginations; it fueled clichéd ideas about art and, quite rightly, the ordinarily unpleasant
issue of “trash in the forest.” Yet this was not an ordinary situation, a fact overlooked
amidst the uproar, compounded by a widespread lack of trust in art. The opinions and
criticisms voiced by those who, naturally and routinely, and largely without reflection,
participate in and fuel the frenzy of consumerism spread like wildfire.
Amidst this atmosphere and under the skeptical gaze of curious onlookers keen to scrutinize Amidst this atmosphere and under the skeptical gaze of curious onlookers keen to scrutinize the proceedings, a contemporary art sculpture named the SPERRMÜLLBAUM
(Bulky Waste Tree) rose toward the sky in the forest.
Two terms, bulky waste and tree, concepts one would not normally associate with one
another, merged within this artwork. The clear critique of consumerism inherent in my art,
targeting the “buy it, it’s useless, throw it away, buy a new one” mentality, began to confront
the observers with every piece of bulky waste incorporated into the sculpture, all without a
single word being spoken. This critique was aimed directly at the very people standing there,
skeptics who, in their own lives, routinely exhibited the behavior in question.
The industrial and political systems that enable and encourage such pathological consumer
habits were, of course, also central to the artwork’s focus.
It took the form of an oversized tree stump, yet within it, one could also discern the shapes of a spaceship or rocket, or the splintered remains of a sinking ship, a wreck amidst jagged,
towering ice floes reminiscent of Caspar David Friedrich’s painting The Sea of Ice
(Das Eismeer). Ultimately, the artwork echoed the themes of that painting, resonating with the idea of human hubris. It transformed into an INSECT-HOTEL SKYSCRAPER.
Depending on the weather, the time of day, and the progression of the month, the artwork
presented a multifaceted appearance; its rich aesthetic appeal drew viewers in, opening the door for some to perceive the critique of consumerism embedded within the piece.
Visitors marveled and criticized; children painted it. It was clear, of course, that the artwork
would one day vanish from the forest. It was allowed to remain there until shortly before
Christmas, even witnessing the first snowfall. Over the course of six months, various small
animals made their homes in it, with fatal consequences for them. Humans take action,
inevitably dragging people, animals, and plants along with them wherever they go …
changes and various complex consequences spiral outward …
Over the years, I developed further art interventions and project ideas based on
the SPERRMÜLLBAUM (Bulky Waste Tree) artwork,
ideas that explored this same conceptual universe…
