WHEN A FIELD TURNS WILD

“LAND ARDAGGER“ is a 3.2-hectare plot in Stift Ardagger (Lower Austria) that, after decades of intensive agricultural use, has been gradually left to natural regeneration since 2023. It operates simultaneously as an atelier, exhibition space, and starting point for a transdisciplinary engagement with agriculture, human responsibility, and global eco-political contexts.

A mobile studio mounted on a trailer attached to a tractor serves as a site of research and production. It enables the observation of the fallow land, exchanges with farmers, artists, and art historians, as well as the development of new works directly on site.

“FIELD STATION“ is a 1.5-hectare plot in South-East Styria, near the Slovenian border, leased by Anita Fuchs. After years of use as an apple orchard, it has been gradually transformed into a biodiverse meadow since 2020. A metal cube installed on the site functions as a starting point for botanical field research, observation of natural processes, and collaboration with ecologists, botanists, and entomologists.

Markus Hiesleitner (*1981, Amstetten) lives and works in Vienna and Lower Austria. In his sculptures, installations, and video works, he explores the relationship between humans and nature as well as ecological and socio-political conditions. After training in agriculture, he studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. He is co-founder of the artist-run space “Kulturdrogerie“ in Vienna and the art project “flora pondtemporary“ in St. Florian/Linz.

Anita Fuchs lives and works in Vienna. She develops long-term projects in the field of nature art, weaving together ecological, social, and political themes. Since 2023, she has been running the wild plant fields “Versuchsfeld 1“ and “Versuchsfeld 2“ in the forecourt of the MuseumsQuartier Vienna.