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Amazonien

AMAZONIA – Yadegar Asisi‘s magical picture of nature

An amazing world – fascinating, wonderful, full of excitement. A natural world that could not be more beguiling, yet many aspects of it still remain unknown.  Yadegar Asisi, an artist from Berlin, has recreated this world for us in his 360° panorama AMAZONIA. Trees growing high up into the sky, long trailing roots which seem to hang down from nowhere, a green half-light and a concert made up of the many thousands of voices of all the animals living here. On a scale of 1:1, around 106 metres long and 30 metres high, AMAZONIA reveals the complexity and beauty of the faraway Brazilian Rainforest.

From the viewing platform, six metres high, the visitor has an unbelievable view of the rainforest.  Using binoculars, you can discover a caterpillar on a leaf, parrots in the treetops, the most beautiful blossoms or exotic animals, even a sloth hanging from a branch. A magical picture of nature.

But this visual expedition would not be complete without experiencing a tropical night. A light installation gradually plunges the whole of the panorama into darkness, as night falls. And then, little by little, dawn breaks again. But that is not all – there are all kinds of sounds. You are surrounded by the voices of the rainforest -  birds, strange animals, even a tropical storm. And the music, specially composed by Erik Babak, underlining the mystery of this rich landscape. Yadegar Asisi’s intention is to sensitise us to the luxuriant rainforest landscape into whose midst we are transported, making us want to find out more about it.

Homage to Alexander von Humboldt

Alexander von Humboldt was passionate about drawing, and landscape painting was his way of bringing nature to life. Humboldt endeavoured to recognize interrelations within the world of nature and to depict them in a sensual and understandable way. And he was convinced: the larger the dimensions of a painting, the more intense its effect would be. Yadegar Asisi dedicates AMAZONIA to Alexander von Humboldt, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of his death. And in this way he makes the great German natural scientist’s dream come true – the dream of a panoramic picture that shows “nature in its wild luxuriance and the fullness of life”.

AMAZONIA – The accompanying exhibition

Is it a legend, or does the pink river dolphin really exist? How does the water cycle work in the rainforest? What does an insect do in order to survive? And what does an insect see when it alights on a blossom?
You can find out at our exhibition. You can even enter the heart of a blossom yourself! Or would you like to know how tall a tropical tree in the Amazon really is? About 25 metres. And a full-size reconstruction of the “king of the trees” awaits you at the asisi Panometer.
Or perhaps you always wanted to know what a mosquito looks like. At the asisi Panometer you can look one directly in the eye. Take a close look at a tropical mosquito, blown up to 60 times its original size.
And then there are the ants. Who would have thought that these tiny animals were so intelligent, so courageous? Just watch them at work. Yadegar Asisi traced a single ant with his camera for a whole hour. You can follow it and see what it gets up to.

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Concept and Artistic Development: Yadegar Asisi
Music: Eric Babak
Curators: Dr. Dietmar Sattler, Dr. Nico Blüthgen, Prof. Dr. Stefan Porembski, Nadine Herwerth, Ana-Maria Benko-Iseppon
Exhibition Architecture: Mathias Thiel