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PARADISE CONTAMINATEDChristoph Schäfer

PARADISE CONTAMINATED

In his mural for the Floridsdorf Volkshochschule— a local adult-education center and events venue—Christoph Schäfer paints facial portraits of Floridsdorf denizens, which he relates to one another as well as to the fauna and flora of the historical floodplain landscape like the reed or the mud turtle. Still, the painting is a far cry from any idea of harmony between humans and animals: Are these creatures swimming, floating, or sleeping? Are they coming up or going down? And what is that ribbon that connects everything?

The title of the piece refers to John Milton’s epic poems “Paradise Lost” and “Paradise Regained” from the 17th century, idealizing visions of the encounter of the secluded individual with pristine nature. They are considered as formative for those bourgeois notions of nature and individuality which unfortunately are also associated with the colonization of the planet through appropriation, subjection, and exploitation.

“Encounter” is a central term in Christoph Schäfer’s work. The attitude of self-reliant individuals to use encounters only to gain more advantages for themselves but without themselves experiencing any transformation is responsible, according to anthropologist Anna Tsing, for the harm inflicted on the planet. “Maybe rescuing the planet depends less on the production of sleek electric cars than on developing the capability for resonance and cooperation, for other people, fauna and flora, for imagining a different future from the edges, together”, says the artist.

Location

VHS Floridsdorf, Kramreitergasse, 1210 Vienna

Further Information

Christoph Schäfer, b. 1964 in Essen (DE), lives in Hamburg (DE).

christophschaefer.net

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PARADISE CONTAMINATEDChristoph Schäfer

Time Period

Since June 4, 2022

S1, S2, S3, U6, Floridsdorf

Education - Events

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