How do we look at our environment? What part of it do we consciously perceive? And how do we try to make sense of the world that surrounds us? These questions are the starting point of an exhibition at the Kunstverein Reutlingen that brings together two very different artistic positions.

The assemblages, wall objects and installations by the French-based artist Anna Solal are often made from residues of capitalism – bicycle chains, hair ties, shoelaces, broken smartphone displays… – found in one-pound shops or on the street. From these composite materials Solal creates naïve, dystopian, archaic or futuristic objects reminiscent of birds, stunt kites, flowers or angels. On the one hand, a world of magical creatures unfolds before our eyes, but on the other, the structured arrangements of the everyday objects from which they were made are disturbing reflections of consumerism and throw-away society.

Facing Solal’s objects is a series of unframed silver gelatine prints by the German photographer Jochen Lempert, which are mounted directly on the wall. His black-and-white images are observations of fleeting moments, while simultaneously reflecting the wealth of genres and forms in nature, seen through the lens of typological categorisation and classification.

Although the two artists pursue a fundamentally different project, their works are both the result of observation-based research and imbued with a sense of ethereal magic. The combination of their works in this cross-generational exhibition opens up a universal dialogue – a profound, existential and poetic reflection on the mysterious coexistence between humans, artefacts and nature.