Reversed!


Natu, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 100 cm


Natu is my contribution to the 2nd Norderstedter Trude, the art competition of the city north of Hamburg. The 120 x 100 cm painting of a grey female orang-utan was created live on site and visitors were able to vote for the name of the artwork. In addition to 'Conny' (based on the deceased female in Hagenbeck's zoo) and 'Biruté' (based on Birutė Galdikas, the best-known orang-utan researcher), 'Natu' was also up for selection and won the vote. The name represents our relationship with the great apes, as it is the reverse spelling of 'utan'. The term “great apes” includes gorillas, chimpanzees and orang-utans as well as humans and our DNA is 97% identical to that of orang-utans. When did these similarities create such serious opportunities for the further development of humanity? Do we perhaps have more in common than we would like to admit? Why are humans still the most dangerous factor when it comes to threats to species and what duty do we have to address such issues and their impacts? ” 


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