At the Deutsches Eck headland in Koblenz, Germany the Rhein and the Mosel conflate. The flow of water brings in alien species or neozoen, which, as they settle into their new habitat, squeeze out the rivers' previous occupants. Tourist information boards at the Deutsches Eck call this struggle for survival lebensraumkonkurrenz or “habitat competition”.

 

Today, many people feel threatened in their lebensraum. The globalization of capitalism and maniacal consumerism have led to the overproduction of useless products, the exploitation of people, of the planet itself, and to climate change. The growing gap between rich and poor and as a result massive migration feeds far right simplistic discourses and power. Radical denouncement of overconsumption and embracing sustainable choices are our only way out.

 

I created this artwork for the Nexus IV Exhibition at Boppard Museum in Sept. 2021- Jan. 2022, ARK-RLP Germany (Im Dialog mit der Kurfürstlichen Burg). When I went to visit the Boppard Museum in 2020 to see the Thonet furniture, known for its top-level manufacturing, quality and classical beauty, I stayed by chance in an apartment, which was promoted  as neue renovierte wohnung or “newly-renovated accommodation”. Upon arrival I found that everything was made of plastic: plastic furniture, plastic flowers, plastic tubs, plastic floors, plastic windows. Lebensraumkonkurrenz, was right there in front of my eyes. Photographs I took at the Boppard Museum (Thonet) and in the apartment (plastic) are the basis of this oil paint series in which I juxtapose Thonet's sustainable furniture (and a picture of Michael Thonet and his sons; his daughters are absent!) with cheap plastic objects that we call 'new' today.