Critical Zones

"Critical Zones – Observatories for Earthly Politics" is a thought experiment andan exhibition curated by Peter Weibel and ZKM together with the French philosopher Bruno Latour. The physical as well as the digital exhibition are featuring artworks that deal with the CRITICAL situation of the Earth in various ways and explore new modes of coexistence between all forms of life.

"Critical Zones" also includes newly created artworks by Rasa Smite and Marcus Maeder, who are artists-researchers at Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics.

As a result of their three-year artistic research, Rasa Smite have created the "Atmospheric Forest" (2020), an immersive VR/video installation that visualizes the relations between the forest emissions, climate and the atmosphere, and Marcus Maeder – "Perimeter Pfynwald" (2019), a soundscape observatory that is acoustic-artistic representation of the ecosystem of the Swiss mountain forest Pfynwald.

Both artworks - "Atmospheric Forest" and "Perimeter Pfynwald" are accessible in the physical exhibition of Critical Zones at ZKM.

Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics is a SNSF-research project led by Yvonne Volkart, hosted by the Institute of Aesthetic Practice and Theory at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design, in collaboration with the WSL - Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research.

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