A wilderness, older than any known civilisation, still exists in the heart of Costa Rica's virgin forest. But this forest is vanishing. Every year millions of hectares of rainforest are cut down. This exhibition gives insights into a small part of the rainforest and the complex relationship between humans and nature.
Globalisation, consumerism, and the resulting climate change are the main causes for the disappearance of the rainforest's precious ecosystem. And this also contributes to the disconnection of humanity from the virgin forest.
What do we connect with the term wilderness? What does a picture of the rainforest trigger in us? What does the reality in this forest look like? And how can we overcome the distance between ourselves and the rainforest?
Alexander Honold was born in Ulm in 1995 and raised in Dornstadt. Honold trained as a bank clerk, and studied Journalism in Magdeburg (BA) and Biology in Ulm (BSc). Alexander Honold's focus is on ecological issues, with a special emphasis on ornithology.
He visited Costa Rica for the first time in 2022, where he took his work placement for his degree, and worked with leafcutter ants and hummingbirds. In 2023 he studied at the Universidad de Costa Rica in San Jose for two semesters towards his Master's Degree. He only took courses covering ecological topics, such as mangroves, aquatic insects, and landscape ecology.
The field trips took him into nature, and during university vacations he travelled through Costa Rica alone. Alexander Honold returned to Germany in autumn 2024 to carry on studying for his Master's Degree at the University of Ulm.
He started taking photographs when he was seventeen, spending time in the forest every day. Even then he only took pictures of animals in nature. It is not surprising that young Alexander Honold's vision of his future did not include continuing to work in a bank. He would much rather work for the National Geographic. (He would definitely stand a chance!)
Curated by: Swetlana Kreinert and Karla Nieraad
Until the garden festival in 2030 the Stadthaus Ulm will regularly illuminate the relationship of humans with nature and plants.
Exhibition opening: Sun 23 Nov 2025, 11.30am - 1pm
Admission is free
