In a Bannwald, a protected patch of forest in which human intervention is banned, nature is left to its own devices. Thomas Putze applies this term to his creative practice. He has faith in the creative process as an initially aimless activity in the midst of chaos and knows that the possibilities inherent in the material will coalesce with the artist’s thoughts and intuition to give rise to new, living forms. In his installation for Museum Art.Plus, which is dominated by an imposing stage set or diorama, the sculptor assembles new creatures from tree trunks and fragments of old sculptures – a process that mirrors his experience of nature reinventing itself in unexpected ways.
In the face of pessimism and apocalyptic fears, the artist is clear-eyed and recognises the very real symptoms of destruction, but at the same time he knows that destruction holds the opportunity for renewal. He does not endeavour to preserve the idyll but acts as a “midwife” for that which is about to be formed. The centrepiece of the exhibition, a millipede measuring around 8 metres in length, crawls towards the visitor, an oddly primeval but energetic creature that could be read as the protagonist of a species that survived the apocalypse. It is surrounded by wild boars, rats, beavers and birds made of wood and black electric cable – not entirely unscathed but bursting with energy. |
