Julius von Bismarck, On Sprinting Botany, 2024

2024

Medium

Compressed wood strands, taxidermied animals, plants, textiles and brass frame

Dimensions

111 × 84 cm

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-156151

In the work series “OOOSB”, Julius von Bismarck condenses various layers of reality by compressing plants, animals and objects into a mass of wood strands. The physical act of pressing levels out the volume of the individual elements while simultaneously emphasizing their presence on the surface: as visible traces, sedimented forms and frozen relics. This process produces large-format image-objects in which organic forms and culturally shaped forms are closely interwoven. They recall the tradition of herbaria, where plants and animals are collected and catalogued for the sake of comprehending nature and to provide us with an ordered image of our environment. “OOOSB” reflects humanity’s urge to define, classify, and control nature. The ambiguous title references both the industrial composite material Oriented Strand Board (OSB) and the theoretical school of Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO). The latter challenges human-centered perception and ascribes an autonomous existence to all things—regardless of their vitality, usefulness, or accessibility—an existence that remains only partially perceptible. Von Bismarck’s works operate within this field of tension: what is inscribed is not merely representational but emerges as an object among objects—with its own history and significance. Unlike the randomly scattered chips in OSB panels, the shavings in “OOOSB” are precisely arranged, creating compositions with clear depth and perspective. These works thus engage not only with nature and its categorization but also with fundamental questions of perception and the existence of objects.