A space as simple as a garden can represent many facets of human life. It is a place of utopia, a vessel for escapism, somewhere that encourages discovery and a child-like sense of wonder. Simultaneously, in the 21st-century, it can represent class hierarchies, a lack of privacy and a sense of identity at odds with the world around it.
Garden of Earthly Delights, a new exhibition at Gropius-Bau, Berlin, explores the garden’s role in modern society through immersive structures and video works, demonstrating the intensive abundance of nature and also the fragility of the paradise-like state. The display presents sound works from musique concrète-pioneer John Cage, alongside an installation from Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama (pictured).
Garden of Earthly Delights opens 26 July at Gropius-Bau, Berlin. Find out more here.
Main image credit: Yayoi Kusama, With All My Love for the Tulips, I Pray Forever, 2013, fiberglass reinforced plastic, urethane paint and stickers, dimensions variable. Installed at Daefu Art Museum, 2013 © YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo / Singapore / Shanghai