Douglas Mandry
Changing Ecosystems
2022
Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie
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Human demand for energy, building materials, chemicals as well as intensive food cultivation has caused natural ecosystems to diminish. The selected artists in Changing Ecosystems have each documented specific ecosystems, portrayed their current state, and mapped natural processes taking place at a specific moment in time. This slow-paced approach allows them to meticulously unravel the impact of global developments on the flora and fauna of certain localities.

On the one hand, the exhibited works can be regarded as indicators which make changes in vegetation and animal life visible to the eye; on the other hand, the images make us aware of a slow change in our consciousness. In the recent past, a reversal has become noticeable in our relationship to nature: the desire for control is turning into a relationship in which nature is treated as an equal organism.

Might we understand the value of a variety of ecosystems around the world better through the artists’ efforts in making these hidden processes visual and tangible?