The orchids of the Donau-Auen national park
Projektidee
In fall 2020, I decided to launch the nature-conservation-art project “The Orchids of the Donau-Auen national park.” The 26 paintings for the exhibition project have now been completed.
At the center of the project are native orchid species in the Danube-Auen National Park, as well as conservation and scientific aspects of their preservation.
For the exhibition project, I am painting all 22 orchid species in acrylic on canvas. There are also some “frame pictures” that address nature conservation or scientific aspects. The goal is to hold an exhibition where the painted pictures will be displayed.
Fieldwork and exhibition catalog
For the project, I visited the various orchid species in the national park from spring to fall 2021 to take photos and make sketches of them. The photos will be included in the exhibition catalog along with illustrations of the painted pictures and a text. With the texts, I want to provide food for thought that encourages readers to develop their own relationships with nature, nature conservation, biodiversity, species protection, and science.
Aims of the project
With this project, I would like to help raise awareness of the need for nature and species conservation in general, and for our wild native orchid species in particular. These have been very close to my heart since my master's thesis.
If possible, I would like to use this project to promote greater understanding of the existing rules and regulations that are already in place in the national park to protect orchids and other plants and animal species (no picking of plants, no walking on meadows or off the paths). Unfortunately, these rules are rarely observed, often unconsciously. With my art project, I would like to highlight the consequences this has for the often very rare orchid species.
A matter of particular concern to me
It is important to me to impart knowledge that there are still many unanswered questions in plant research, and in orchid research in particular. These gaps in our knowledge future generations of researchers urgently need to fill. Based on the current state of research, it is virtually impossible to cultivate terrestrial orchid species that grow in our countryside in their natural habitat. But it is precisely this understanding of germination and cultivation conditions in vitro and ex situ that could become increasingly important for the conservation of these species in the future.
In the medium and long term, such cultivation techniques would be a good tool for reestablishing (natural) growth sites in order to counteract site losses. In addition, this cultivation knowledge and expertise would also be an interesting tool against the genetic impoverishment of individual, distant populations without genetic exchange. For these reasons, it would be very important to me to reinvest part of the proceeds from the nature conservation art project, if possible, to enable this research and investigation.
Origin of the project idea
The nature-conservation-art project „Die Orchideen des Nationalpark Donau-Auen“ is thematically linked to my Master's thesis at the Institute for Integrative Nature Conservation Research (INF) at BOKU. My Master's thesis dealt with the "Reproductive success of Anacamptis morio – dem Kleinen Knabenkraut – einer von insgesamt 22 wildwachsenden Orchideenart im NP Donau-Auen. Als Anerkennung für mein wissenschaftliches Bemühen rund um meine Abschlussarbeit erhielt ich 2018 einen wissenschaftlichen Förderpreis der Stadt Wien im Bereich „Biodiversität“.
A first partial exhibition of the project took place from May 4, 2025, to August 4, 2025, at the Hotel Schani Salon at Mariahilferstraße 58, 1060 Vienna.
Eine zweite Teilausstellung mit 15 Werken fand in der Hauptbibliothek der Universität für Bodenkultur Wien vom 11.11.2025 – mit Verlängerung bis 30.01.2025 statt.
The exhibition catalog, which complements and concludes my nature conservation art project, can be ordered from my online shop. Personal pickup in Vienna is also possible by arrangement.
