Standing in the tradition of a family that has produced painters, sculptors and architects for generations, Markus Heinsdorff has developed into a universal artist whose wealth of ideas seems to be inexhaustible. For decades, the sculptor, photographer, architect and inventor has traveled the world with the desire to make it better in a simple way. A ship he had constructed was recently featured in a TV report, which was equipped with solar power, a shower and a vegetable garden and was suitable for living at any time.
His projects relate to topics whose explosiveness affects humanity and the earth. He initiated installations and exhibitions in many countries, whereby the native of Upper Bavaria also says: “The more I learn about other cultures, the more I learn about my own.” Among other things, he set up a forest academy in the middle of the Venezuelan jungle, which focuses on the natural use of the forest and its preservation as a habitat for the indigenous population.
Photographic and video works by Heinsdorff, which were created in various rainforest regions, are currently on view in the House of Photography in Burghausen. The big topic that drives him: How can you help to save the world from destruction. Neither lacking in optimism nor ideas, he likes to compare it to the butterfly’s wing, which can trigger a hurricane.
For Heinsdorff, nature is the best teacher when it comes to building. At the Expo 2010 in Shanghai, he proved how modern, light and yet stable buildings made of the renewable raw material bamboo can be. Reaching the highest perfection in simplicity, this principle, already followed by Leonardo da Vinci, also drives him.
The archive that he wants to create about the types and elements of the earth does not correspond to a scientific approach, but to a purely aesthetic one and thus due to diversity. On the one hand, it reveals the fascinating circulatory system between water and rain as well as the oxygen producers and, on the other hand, draws attention to the dwindling biodiversity.
Heinsdorff is exhibiting in Burghausen not least because he is planning to set up an art and architecture academy for environmental and social issues in the old monastery brewery in Raitenhaslach.
Markus Heinsdorff: Rain Forest 1 – Art Archive of Trees and Plants, House of Photography Burghausen, until November 6th. Next Sunday, Heinsdorff will lead through the exhibition (3 p.m.).