betreten verboten (Keep off)
2020/25
Installation
Dimensions variable
Silicone blocks: L 10 × W 8 × H 6 cm each
Material: Silicone cast, dog excrement, artificial turf
“Betreten verboten” (Keep Off) presents seven silicone blocks containing embedded dog excrement, distributed across three pieces of artificial turf. Normally perceived as unwanted waste, the excrement appears here as conserved, aestheticized objects.
The work negotiates the ambivalent relationship between humans, animals, and nature: while the dog is domesticated and disciplined as a loyal companion, its bodily trace in public space is regarded as a disturbance that should be removed immediately. Although animal feces are part of natural cycles, they become a disruptive element within the controlled natural environment of the allotment garden. Within the tension between manicured lawn, social order, and repressed materiality, the work opens up an ironic perspective on control, cleanliness, and the illusion of mastering nature.
