Julius von Bismarck, We Were All Naked (Elephant Ear), 2023

2023

Medium

Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta

Dimensions

166 × 110 cm

Edition

Ed. 4/6 + 2 AP

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-155880

In the photograph “We Were All Naked (Elephant Ear)” (2023), a banana plant is wrapped in plastic foil and vacuum-sealed. The foil encases the plant like a second skin, removing it from its natural context and placing it in a state of preservation that simultaneously suffocates its vitality. The plant now exists as a preserved monument to ecological overexposure, in a condition of unreality—conserved and transferred into a foreign existence that recalls the interventions humans impose on nature. The photograph was taken in Madagascar, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. The lush green of the vegetation stands in stark contrast to the absence of life evoked by the vacuum seal. Like an artifact preserved in a vacuum, the plant becomes a silent witness to a transformation that can neither be undone nor fully comprehended. In “We Were All Naked (Elephant Ear)”, Julius von Bismarck explores the fragility of life and the tensions that arise when human interference interrupts natural processes. He points to the often-irreversible impact of human technology on nature. The human urge to distance oneself from the environment and to create a form of isolation through technology stands in opposition to life forms that cannot adapt quickly enough to the constantly shifting, human-shaped conditions. The sealed plant thus becomes a symbol of our alienated relationship with nature — one that signifies both preservation and loss, as well as the impossibility of maintaining natural cycles without consequences.