A Fantastic Journey from the Messel Fossil Site to Modern Research Laboratories
Opening: Thursday, March 30, 2023, 7:00 p.m.
March 31 to July 16, 2023
Please register via this link.
Senckenberg Naturmuseum Frankfurt
Senckenberganlage 25
60325 Frankfurt
The Senckenberg program for 2023 kicks off with Maria Loboda's exhibition "The Machine." At the center of her installation is her film "The Machine," which is the artist's first film. The main character is an artesian well that bubbles up without any technical assistance. In the age of machines, these wells receive special attention, as they create a natural "water theater" that would otherwise require a great deal of machinery to produce. Strangely enough, one such well also exists in the industrially transformed landscape of the Messel Pit. Loboda's film describes a fantastic journey from Messel and the Eocene epoch, the "dawn" of 50 million years ago, through 18th and 19th century machines, and on to modern research laboratories.
During her visits to Messel and in conversation with Messel researchers from the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research, Maria Loboda discovered an artesian well that bubbles up without any technical assistance. It is of secondary interest to the research in the pit and stands in strange contrast to the site and the fossils. Loboda began to research the history of the pit, its importance for paleontology, paleoecosystem research, paleoclimate research, and the history of the well. The film is the result of this artistic research. In a fictional story, it combines all of these areas and focuses on human constructions of the world and environment, science, technology, and art.
In the film, Loboda, who also calls herself a contemporary archaeologist, incorporates her experiences and reflections on the Messel fossil site and the Eocene epoch. The world-famous Messel fossils, such as the "Urpferdchen" (the oldest known horse) as well as primates, fish, insects, plants, and reptiles, all date from this time. The preservation state of some fossils also includes stomach contents and soft body outlines, as well as fur and feathers, making the site extraordinarily significant. The site is not only important for the history and present of paleontology but also for historical biodiversity research worldwide. The political developments, from plans to turn the pit into a landfill to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, are also particularly noteworthy.
The film and the installation are the prelude to a series of exhibitions and events that showcase the perspective of artists on natural science and nature. "The exploration of the world by artists enables completely new approaches to topics in natural science and research at Senckenberg," said museum director Dr. Brigitte Franzen. "The effective power of artistic perspectives, research, and images is an important and equal reservoir for experimental thinking for the natural history museum of the future," she continues. Bridging this gap is a focus of the exhibitions at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum this year and will also accompany museum work in the following years.
On March 30, 2023, the film "The Machine" will celebrate its world premiere at the opening, and will be shown not only in the Senckenberg cinema, but also in the atrium between the dinosaurs with live music by Leona Jacewska.
Loboda is the first recipient of the Ottilie-Roederstein Scholarship from the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art with this project.