Seven Hills
Images and Signs of the 21^st Century

II ) Jungle

Cries and Whispers (Room 2)

There seems to be an immeasurable diversity of species and shapes in the plant and animal kingdoms. Researchers around the globe are working to take stock of biodiversity. They want to record all of the planet's species, only a fraction of which are known to humankind. However, humans only manage to record excerpts from the vast complexity of life when observing nature and seeking to represent nature. There is as much diversity to be found in how nature is seen and expressed in art as there is in the natural world itself. In seeking to document the diversity of life, scientists and artists made a contributions to natural history as well as to the history of art. Nature is valued nowadays not just for its intrinsic value but also for its economic worth, both as a source of medical progress and as the wellspring of aesthetic sensibility. Whilst conservationists first and foremost stress the value of life per se, many pharmaceutical companies see the rain forests as a genetic and economic resource just waiting to be exploited.

Gene's Animal Farm (Room 3)

In previous eras, illustrations of living beings were static and purely descriptive. At first, this approach seemed to offer sufficient scope to record the whole panoply of nature. Many artists also busied themselves sketching the broad gamut of living creatures, seeking to satiate the collector's itch of both private individuals and scientific institutions. Although many exotic beings could not be preserved indefinitely, there was nonetheless a desire to produce as precise a documentary record of them as possible.
This first approach contrasts with contemporary technologies, which can look deep into the inner life of living beings. They reveal microscopic details and make it possible to view vital biological processes unfolding over time. And biotechnology is about to form and manipulate life itself. Whereas once artists served biology, research results now often filter through into the arts. Simulations of evolution, for example, are the basis for artificial life in multimedia art. A new alliance between art and science is emerging: the work is no longer a static unit but is subject instead to constant change just like life itself.

Whale Affinities (Room 4)

How much of humans is to be found in animals and how much of animals is there in humans? It is virtually impossible to define exactly where the thin borderline between human and animal runs. One might even ask if the question still makes sense in the light of modern behavioural research. 18^th century philosophers had heated debates about whether animals have a soul, yet in 19 ^th century zoological literature it was taken for granted that they did. Nowadays scientists seem to stress the similarity between animals and people more than ever. It has long been demonstrated that animals can use tools, engage in complex learning processes and employ a simple form of language. Dolphins, for example, make differentiated sounds and live in complex social structures. Chimpanzees can communicate with humans using sign language. In genetic terms, even insects, on the whole not very popular creatures, are more closely related to us than we generally assume. Will biologists in the future find the specific genes that make us human? And what repercussions will that have for mankinds' sense of identity?

The Eyes of the Goddess (Room 5)

The Indian goddess Kali unites opposing aspects of becoming, preserving and destroying. These contradictory forces are taken here as a metaphor for humans' relationship to nature. The name Kali is derived from Kala, meaning time, which creates and devours everything. Tradition holds that the goddess was called into life in a battle against demons. She possesses uncontrollable forces and everything to do with her behaviour is extreme. On the one hand, the black goddess is elevated to the status of saviour of the universe and the gods call for her aid. On the other hand, she may begin to wipe out the whole world in a destructive frenzy. The only thing that can stop her is the god Shiva, in the form of an new-born baby, the symbol of a new beginning. The great mother symbolises the frightening aspects of nature and promises to protect those who honour her. She is thus both attractive and repulsive. Like nature, Kali is above human morality. Diverse facets of the dreadfully beautiful goddess are illustrated in historic depictions in sculptures, paintings and miniatures.

Cats and Chats / Tiger in the Net (Room 6)

Here, the tiger represents all endangered species a symbol of nature under threat. Three of the eight tiger sub-species are already extinct, and there are only a few hundred of each of the remaining five sub-species at least in the wild. Although the tiger may not survive the next century in the wild, zoos around the globe have successfully bred tigers. This illustrates how the work done by zoos has changed: nowadays zoos are not simply showing animals to the public but also engage in species conservation. Hi-tech medical techniques using sperm banks and artificial insemination allow targeted breeding. The World Tiger Breeding Book kept by Leipzig Zoo serves as a basis for global gene-pool management. In contrast, images from the colonial age, historic paintings and taxidermic specimens evoke a sense of fascination, unfettered power, savagery and exoticism. Various tiger body parts, destined for consumption in one form or another, fetch a high price on the black market. In some countries people still believe that consuming products derived from various parts of the tiger lends special powers.

Nature in the Drawer (Room 7)

Scientific natural history collections are the descendants of the 16^th century European Wunderkammer . There, works of art were shown alongside natural objects and other kinds of curiosities. In 1735 Carl von Linn devised the first general systematology for the plant and animal kingdom, which laid the foundation for museums of natural history. This grammar allowed to name all living creatures in a universally comprehensible language. Biological collections today still use the same principles. The type of a species is the most important element underpinning this system, and is used like a kind of yardstick as a reference point for researchers around the globe. Only the type proves the scientific existence of a particular species.
In the future there will be a growing number of gene-banks, with animal semen and plant seeds, as a sort of genetic back-up. Genomic banks store the genes that have been isolated as millions of tiny fragments. Is this a kind of virtual Noah's Ark to preserve bio-diversity?

Continue to the next hill: Cosmos