Back to the Roots: Decolonize Nature
Group show featuring Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa

In the Anthropocene, processes of exploitation shape humanity’s relationship with nature. In the face of ecological crises, voices have emerged that question its legitimation. The exhibition Back to the Roots presents artistic positions that offer alternative views of ecological thinking, expanding the consciousness of earthly coexistence, thus overcoming the colonial past.”

In his seminal book Decolonizing Nature, the American art historian T. J. Demos calls for new ecological art that takes local, sociopolitical, and economic aspects into account. Ecological knowledge passed on from one generation to the next has become a new point of reference in today’s debate. It points to the know-how that local peoples have acquired over long periods through direct contact with the environment. This knowledge is site-specific and often includes relationships between plants, animals, natural phenomena, landscapes, and the rhythms of everyday life.

Artists: Ravi Agarwal (India), Ambra Castagnetti (Italy), Wilson Diaz (Colombia), Monica Ursina Jäger (Switzerland), Karrabing Film Collective (Australia), Hunter Longe (Switzerland), Maurice Maggi (Switzerland), Uriel Orlow (Switzerland), Naufus Ramirez-Figueroa (Guatemala), NGGAMDU.ORG in collaboration with Tomás Saraceno (Cameroun/Argentina)

With kind support of Max Kohler Stiftung and Stadt Zürich Kultur