Hubert Hasler: overrun+

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Hubert Hasler (*1975) shows works from his series Overrun, which deals with non-native plant species, so-called neophytes.
The first works were created during a three-month artist-in-residence in Schöppingen (North Rhine-Westphalia) in 2017. In the following years, further elaborations followed during residencies in Hamburg, Reelkirchen (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Vienna. The photographic works are accompanied by an installation of collected neophytic Viennese plants.
The plant material - all invasive plants with a non-Central European background - was explored, collected, processed, grafted, transformed and photographed by him in the aforementioned locations. Some of the plants were draped in vases based on Flemish still life models (the vases were available for purchase at the local thrift store). These vase fillings were digitally photographed in natural light against a uniformly chosen background in the studio.
Furthermore, the artist climbs Chinese trees of heaven to explore the view of these plants down to their urban environment. He selects hundreds of jewelweed seeds to attach to fireworks rockets and ignite them toward a new planet where they can continue to spread in peace. Even though this attempt failed, Hasler was confident that the fired seeds could at least take root in Hamburg's "Planten und Blomen" park. Investigating the efficacy of the ingredients of plants such as Japanese knotweed was another artistic concern: over a period of several months, these were soaked in Lippish gin and the results subsequently tasted at openings.