Taming the Garden

With the realization that living and doing business under global capitalism is irreversibly changing the earth's ecosystem, many ideas about nature have begun to falter. The effects of the climate crisis show that nature in the 21st century is no longer "natural" but affected in every respect by human activity. So how can we look today at nature, whose condition is inextricably linked with the social and political manifestations of our lifestyles?

As part of the “After Nature. Ulrike Crespo Photography Prize 24”, C/O Berlin and Arsenal are showing TAMING THE GARDEN (CH/G/Georgia 2021) by Georgian documentary filmmaker Salomé Jashi. The film reflects on the interplay between power and wealth, and the desire to shape nature as one sees fit. An unusual project forms the focus of the film: A wealthy and influential man in Georgia has centuries-old trees removed from their natural environment to relocate them in his private garden. The costly transportation leaves a mark. In some cases, paths have to be opened up, trees felled, and power lines cut. TAMING THE GARDEN documents the physical and emotional effects of these interventions: the use of the machines, the destruction of landscapes and the spaces left behind for the local population. But the film also finds a form for the idiosyncratic aesthetics of these processes. The camera not only captures the impressive presence of the trees, but also the heaviness of the equipment. A view of nature after nature.

With the After Nature Prize, C/O Berlin and the Crespo Foundation support two projects each year that respond to the changing ecologies of the present in photography and visual media. The first winners, Laura Huertas Millán and Sarker Protick shed light on how colonial structures continue to shape the modern relationship to nature today, from different perspectives and geographical contexts. (Katharina Täschner)

At C/O Berlin, Hardenbergstraße 22-24, 10623 Berlin

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Arsenal on Location is supported by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds.