Foreword

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As we all know, man’s expulsion from Paradise was coupled with his being condemned to a life of hard labor. Instead of simply taking what he needed from the abundance of nature, man would henceforth have to produce his own goods. This law remained in effect for a long time, but the postindustrial era heralded the renewed possibility of letting nature work for us, similar to money, by patenting her products and their genetic design, or by making her beauty into a selling point for exclusive locations. This winter semester, Kunstraum Lakeside will host two artistic projects dealing with this theme: one explores facets of the current economization of nature and of life, and the other takes a look at the phenomenon of “naturalization” of work and business.

Kicking off the semester is an exhibition by Ines Doujak dedicated to the neo-colonial practice of “biopiracy.” Doujak traces the routes by which natural resources from “biodiversity” regions in the southern hemisphere are appropriated and marketed by multinational corporations.  … >>