Blazing Heath/Heideglühen

We invite you to experience »Blazing Heath/Heideglühen«, a multi-channel audiovisual installation that examines the complex history and contested afterlife of former military training sites in Brandenburg, Germany. Following the Soviet troop withdrawal in the early 1990s, these sites were transferred to nature conservation organizations under the »Naturerbe« (Natural Heritage) initiative, which aims to preserve their original state — a notion subject to interpretation. Shaped by decades of tank maneuvers and gunfire, these landscapes bear the scars of destruction, yet paradoxically foster the resurgence of species once thought extinct. Now functioning as »living laboratories«, they serve as sites for studying species adaptation and experimental conservation practices.

By integrating data-driven, visual and sonic monitoring, »Blazing Heath/Heideglühen« encourages you to encounter these uncanny landscapes. The work examines how the toxic legacies of military occupation are made (in)visible and repurposed within scientific knowledge production. As emerging technologies and methodologies are tested in these extraordinary environments to advance biodiversity goals, the work interrogates the histories embedded within the data itself — asking how past violence shapes contemporary conservation. Just as the physical terrain of these former training grounds retains the traces of its militarized past, so too do the datasets derived from them, carrying the specters of history into future applications.

More information on ZK/U can be found here: https://www.zku-berlin.org/de/

Credits

»Blazing Heath/Heideglühen« is a collaboration of ZK/U – Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik with the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin as part of the ＿matter Festival 2025.

Team Credits

Curation and Art Direction: Michaela Büsse
Research: Michaela Büsse, Jona Möller & Sandra Jasper
Cartography and Visualizations: Jona Möller
Cinematography, Editing and Colour Correction: Konstantin Mitrokhov
Sound Design: Andreas Kühne
Motion Design: Azul de Monte

Dates

Exhibition: 18–20 July 2025
Vernissage: Thu, 17 July 2025 7:00–10:00 pm
Opening Hours: 12:00–8:00 pm

Free admission

Program

20 July 2025, 3:00–5:00 pm Roundtable
Refiguring Nature in a Datafied World: Debating the Politics and Materiality of Environmental Data

The roundtable »Refiguring Nature in a Datafied World: Debating the Politics and Materiality of Environmental Data« explores how data shapes our understanding of nature, informs environmental decision-making, and reflects broader socio-political dynamics. From sensor networks to satellite imagery, data plays an increasingly central role in how we engage with ecological change, but it also raises critical questions about visibility, power, and interpretation.

Participants will discuss the material and political dimensions of environmental data: How is it produced? Who controls it? And what kinds of narratives about nature does it generate? With contributions from Birgit Schneider (University of Potsdam), Alexander Vorbrugg (mLAB / University of Bern), Sandra Jasper (FAU Erlangen), and Michaela Büsse (TU Dresden / Matters of Activity). Moderated by Anna-Sophie Springer.