The exhibition has the aim of realizing the multiplicative potential of art, media, and natural history which, when provocatively exhibited together, solicit transformative engagements with this fragile planet and its perilous forests. „Disappearing Legacies” combines contemporary works of art, site-based field research, archival materials, and natural history collections to consider the history and legacy of European colonial science in the tropical rainforests of South America and Southeast Asia. The project aims to foster a deep public awareness about the role these forests play in maintaining a habitable climate for the entire planet, and to develop durable cultural literacies to discuss and respond to ecological crises. Using a transdisciplinary curatorial strategy committed to provocative encounters and epistemic promiscuities, „Disappearing Legacies” will demonstrate the potential of contemporary art as a cultural lens through which a plurality of perspectives on colonial-scientific history and environmental violence can reorient visitors’ comportment to global environmental issues. (Artists’ list to be announced soon.)
In 2018, the exhibition will be continued at two locations:
Tieranatomisches Theater
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Spring/Summer 2018

Zentralmagazin Naturwissenschaftlicher Sammlungen
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
Fall 2018

Artistic directors: Anna-Sophie Springer and Etienne Turpin
Scientific advisors: Matthias Glaubrecht, Felix Sattler, Frank Steinheimer

The exhibition is realized in cooperation with the Schering Stiftung.

The project is funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation.