Art and Compost: The Garden as a Laboratory and Subject of Exploration

For the exhibition project *Art and Compost*, Martin Benz and Doris Willi use the “Auf dem Stein” garden both as a subject for their photographs and as a laboratory. They present images and processes that explore the garden as a cultural space and alternative photographic techniques. Just as in gardening, they document, intervene purposefully, tend, discover, harvest, and observe the sun’s path. Plants are used as photographic developers, pigments, and toners.

In 2024, Martin Benz was awarded an artist-in-residence grant by the Appenzell Ausserrhoden Cultural Foundation. During their stay in England, Martin Benz and Doris Willi immersed themselves in alternative photographic processes and resource-conserving techniques such as plant-based developers and pigments. Since then, their exploration of experimental processes has expanded their artistic practice and opened up new avenues for realizing visual ideas.

Opening Reception:

11:00 a.m. Welcome, introduction

11:30 a.m. A stroll through the garden and its cultural history with landscape architect Roman Häne

12:30 p.m. Cocktail reception

1:00 p.m. Duduk solo,

concert with Haïg Sarikouyoumdjian (F)

2:00 p.m. Mesa in the garden (Teilete)

Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.