Natur

30th October 2022 until 30th June 2024

Nature

and us?

We find respite in nature and ourselves in the wilderness. We revere the natural and long for untouched landscapes. At the same time, we search for solutions, by whatever technological means possible, to the threats of tiny viruses, massive flooding, and devastating blazes. We argue about whether and how to save nature. But what actually is nature? And to whom does it belong? That was the focus of “Nature. And us?”.

Review in Pictures

Schlussbericht

Natur – und du? Der Naturkompass

The consequences of our interactions with nature present us with major challenges. Most people agree that the Earth is out of balance. We disagree, however, when it comes to the question of what to do next: Do we have to save the earth, and if so, by what means? Who is responsible for this? And: What kind of future do we want? How we answer these questions has a lot to do with our relationship with nature and also with our fundamental attitude toward the world. This is where the model of the Nature Compass comes into play: The model represents four different perspectives on these questions. In collaboration with the Sotomo research institute, the Stapferhaus asked 1600 people about their understanding of nature. The study asked the same questions that the Stapferhaus used to ask visitors in the exhibition "Nature. And us?". Log in codes from the exhibition are still valid online, now you can also answer the questions without a code.

Survey

Where does our understanding of nature come from?

We explore and conquer it, protect and sell it. We fear and admire it at the same time: nature. Yet “nature” is not just one thing. The ideas we have about it are always in flux and shaped by culture. Thus many aspects of our current Western understanding of nature are closely linked to scientific and economic developments, to the Enlightenment and industrialization. 147 “nature objects” tell 30 stories about what we understand nature to be and what we have done with it.

Stories were selected in collaboration with: Naturama Aarau, Natural History Museum Basel, Natural History Museum Bern, United herbariums of the University and ETH Zurich, Nature Museum St. Gallen, Zoological Museum Zürich, Nature Museum Solothurn, Zoological Museum Zurich, Natural History Museum Fribourg, Nature Museum Winterthur.

Discover

What nature means to us: 17 perspectives

There is no such thing as nature. When we talk about it, we actually talk about our ideas of nature. Ideas that are highly ambivalent: in the supermarket we prefer the most natural lettuce in stock, and on the ski slopes we want snow, even if it doesn’t fall. We call wildlife management to get rid of the pigeons on the roof, and we have a new enclosure built for the penguins at the zoo. Looking at “nature” from different perspectives and becoming aware of what we project onto it can teach us a lot about ourselves and the times we live in. In the exhibition, visitors could listen to 17 personal perspectives in the projection landscape.

Video projections: Georg Lendorff, interviews: Stapferhaus.

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What should we do? The debatte

Should we save the world, and if so, how? Questions we struggle with – and sometimes disagree about. The solutions proposed here reflect different perspectives on the relationship between humans and nature. In a 20-minute video debate, the tech-savvy, the well-informed, the holistic, and the disinterested explore these questions from a variety of perspectives. Visitors can participate in the debate by choosing their own answers.

Entdecken