The Art of Economy and Habits in the Works of Hubert Hasler

 

Based on the idea of philosophy of ecology Hubert Hasler addresses his actual questions in his art works. He presents a different perspective and a multi leveled possibility of interpretation into the environmental ethics.

The aim of the philosophy of ecology is to clarify and critique the ‘first principles’, which are the fundamental assumptions present in science and the natural sciences. The idea that living and non-living beings are related and interconnected components in the biospherical web. It is essential to understand the system of the biosphere and the components as a whole and complex field.

 

But his view isn’t romantic like in Henry David Thoreau Walden or the French philosopher Jean-Jaques Rousseau. Hasler is aware of the absolute importance of the issue and the intransigence of large companies and corrupt politicians. He subversively weaves socio-political themes into the topic of nature, such as xenophobia in the neophyte project #overrun, authoritarian politicians in, and the danger of AI optimisation in Beauty never dies.

 

The exhibition Behind the Pavilion is both a retrospective and a presentation of his latest works, Eurydike, where is the Snake and the video piece I wanna be Tree, which were created in 2026 during a residency in Sinemorets, Bulgaria.

 

He has also created a sculptural work especially for the exhibition in Timisoara/Meta Spațiu, which explores Romanian customs and pays homage to the city where we have both had the pleasure of enjoying many wonderful exhibition experiences.

 

The exhibition comprises photographs, videos, installations, sculptures and a performance at the opening.

In all his works, Hubert Hasler explores the theme of nature in its various facets, such as abuse, extinction, climate change and exploitation. He uses nature-related themes as a metaphor for social criticism. Hubert Hasler deconstructs established norms.

 

Trees (I wanna be a Tree, video work) sway in the wind, shed their leaves and allow their seeds to be dispersed by wind and water, yet they cannot move of their own accord. By mobilising what is supposedly fixed, Hubert Hasler alters our familiar perspective and shifts the boundaries of the periphery.

 

Hasler uses nature as a canvas (seed shields, sculptures) for everyday themes. The organically and structurally designed forms, which break away from two-dimensionality, transform into surreal-looking figures that open up new spaces for thought.

 

Hasler addresses both the deformation and partial obliteration caused by trees being displaced or felled to make way for development, and the resulting exodus of many people who are forced to leave their homelands—destroyed by civilisation—in order to find a new place to call home.

 

In his performative photography and film series I wanna be a Tree, Hubert Hasler draws on the Bulgarian tradition of the Kukeri. At the annual SURWA Festival in Pernig, winter is driven away by hairy superhumans/monsters. In the style of the Kukeri costumes, Hubert Hasler has created a tree costume, in which he roams through natural and urbanised landscapes.

 

Walking trees that explore their surroundings, abandoning their usual steadfastness in favour of mobility. Unlike Thoreau, who retreated into the woods to try out an alternative lifestyle, Hasler transforms himself into a tree.

Like the child in Kim de L’Horizon’s Blood Beech, who wishes to become a blood beech to escape his isolation and the lack of understanding from those around him, the tree costume protects the protagonists. (Comments from visitors who slipped into the tree costume during the performance included feelings of security, serenity and well-being).

 

The tree costume is woven from non-native plants. These ‘foreign’ plants, the bane of allotment gardeners, are setting off – quite literally. They were brought here long ago, washed ashore from other cultures, and have adapted – and in some cases assimilated.

 

We are screening films from the overrun global series set in Korea, Malta and the Maldives, in which Hubert Hasler actively transports non-native plants and transforms them in other locations. The films explore how these non-native plants spread through discoveries and gifts to rulers (in 1814, Tsar Alexander presented Metternich with giant hogweed seeds on the occasion of the Congress of Vienna).

 

„It all began with a 10-kilo sack of potatoes on a bus from Münster to the North Rhine-Westphalia countryside, which was allowed to travel in its own seat.

 

For over a decade, I have been studying neophytes – plants that are not native to the area. These are plants that establish themselves in their supposed new home mainly through human transport, by collectors, or through landscaping.

 

The first short film about overgrowth – a car loaded to the brim with Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), which I brought to the studio to create and photograph an installation. In doing so, I am actively contributing to the spread of these plants with negative connotations.

 

In Malta, I transport agaves (Agave americana) from one place to another; in South Korea, I found black locust trees (Robinia pseudoacacia) in a remote spot near a very old temple; and on Felhidhoo, an island in the Vaavu Atoll in the Maldives, I help damiana (Turnera ulmifolia) to make its way from one island to another, and much more.

 

My overflowing short films bear witness to human activity, accompanied by the unstoppable intermingling and spread of these unwanted plants, symptomatic of a constantly changing society.”

 

Hubert Hasler

The photo series Eurydike, where is the Snake? refers to the Strandja Nature Reserve in Bulgaria on the Black Sea coast. This area is believed to be the origin of the Thracian version of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, and the Voynov family’s Asti Art Hotel houses several works by important Romanian and Bulgarian artists on this theme in its sculpture garden.

 

Hubert Hasler has linked this myth to the nearby rose fields in the Valley of Roses. The Damask rose is of great economic importance to Bulgaria, as 70 per cent of the rose oil used worldwide (in the perfume and cosmetics industries) comes from the Valley of Roses.

 

The Damask rose originates from Persia, where it has been cultivated for centuries due to its beguiling fragrance, to produce rose oil and rose water. It is also said to possess healing powers. Its scent is believed to lift the spirits and relieve nervous tension. The oil has anti-inflammatory properties, whilst the blossoms are used to flavour jams, syrups and other local dishes.

 

In the eponymous photo series Behind the Pavilion, Hubert Hasler examines the rear sides of the national pavilions in the Giardini in Venice. At the front, nationality is celebrated; behind the pavilions, neophytes grow.

The photographs show that two completely divergent perspectives clash, yet remain unseen. When they do become visible, they serve as a visualisation of the status quo.

 

Behind the Pavilion is a journey through time and space, across different media and perspectives.

 

Text by Denise Parizek