Kein Plan widersteht der ersten Berührung. (No plan withstands the very first touch.)

Carmen Arias, Katrin Bittl, Philipp Buhl, Dimitrios Dimitriadis, Rebekka Feicht, Franz Handschuh, Tabata von der Locht, Mona Karami, Minjoon Kim, Jakob Kretschmer, Liman Mansuroglu, Celia Meißner, Alexandra Müller, Tabitha Nagy, Sophie Neustifter, Branka Predojevic, Sofia Reyes, Magdalena Rödl, Cosima Strähhuber, Jonas Strobl, Sonja Tittl, Simon Wenz, Georg Weyerer

The Kunstpavillon is located in the grounds of Munich’s former botanical gardens. Some of the plants growing today at the current botanical gardens in Munich-Nymphenburg were first planted in these grounds, next to the central train station. Most of the current plant species are non-native and were brought to Europe as part the colonial project, as an exercise in the study of ‘exotic’ and unidentified species. Historically, botanical gardens were crucial tools for the exploitation of the Indigenous land and vegetation of the occupied territories. Many of the plant species exhibited in European botanical gardens cannot be found in their native habitats anymore, a common outcome of colonial exploitation.

Klasse Pitz wishes to reference this history, departing from the broad theme of botany, to critique the alledged distinction between humankind and nature. Deconstructing accepted methods of control over nature, one is challenged to perceive plants as sensitive and sentient beings, extracted against their will. As observers and witnesses of human endeavours, with strong and interconnected roots, the vegetal world will surely outlive the extinction of the human race. After all, we need ‘nature’ far more than ‘she’ needs us – assuming that we still insist on this dichotomy.
23 artistic positions from the class present individual works that document or mimic plants, speculate on future environmental scenarios, refer to artificial enhancements of technology, and introduce ritualistic relationships to the plant kingdom. The walls of the Kunstpavillon remain bare because it is impossible to hang a work in a glasshouse. (Diogo da Cruz)