Terrestrial perspectives

The exhibition ‘Terrestrial Perspectives’ at the Ludwig Forum Aachen brings together works by artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Betty Beaumont, and Richard Long that explore the complex interaction between humans and the environment. With around 30 photographs, graphics, paintings, sculptures and video works, as well as some performative formats, the exhibition offers a wide range of artistic approaches to land use and environmental issues.

The exhibition begins with a showcase that provides insights into previous ecological and sustainable projects by the Ludwig Forum, such as the 1994 international exhibition ‘Arte Amazonas’. Continuing, works ranging from Land Art from the late 1960s to contemporary critical perspectives on local and global structures of land use and exploitation of natural resources are presented.

Key themes include the violent exploitation of natural resources and its consequences, as seen in the video ‘Sooth Breath/Corpus Infinitum’ by Arjuna Neuman and Denise Ferreira da Silva, and the installation ‘Ajuar para un conquistador’ by Mónica Giron. In addition, the Migrant Ecologies Project's video ‘Like Shadows Through Leaves’, which highlights the coexistence of humans and birds in Singapore, will be shown.

Inspired by Bruno Latour's ‘Terrestrial Manifesto’, the exhibition explores how new forms and coexistence between humans, animals and nature can be developed. Alongside the artworks, workshops and events will be organised to develop alternative and sustainable ways of exhibiting together with artists, visitors and the museum team.

‘Terrestrial perspectives’ is part of a series of exhibitions highlighting the Ludwig Forum's own collection. Other projects in this series include ‘Training the Archive’ and ‘Fragmente einer Wirklichkeit, die einmal war’. The exhibition runs parallel to these projects and contributes to the development of a new, comprehensive catalogue of the Ludwig Forum's collection, to be published in late 2025.