news
  • 15.3.2024 – 13.10.2024
    new project , exhibition

    "Water Pressure - Designing for the future" an exhibition of the MK&G Hamburg and Jane Withers Studio – looks at the water crisis from a global perspective. We were commissioned to come up with an installation celebrating water. The result "vital rain" is part of the exhibition and will stay permanently in the museums yard.
    more soon

    MKG Hamburg - Water Pressure

  • april 2024
    new project

    For the glassware company Lobmeyr we designed "ident" - drinking set No.287

    Identical shape, identical height - five individual glasses.
    The series was unveilded during Milan Design Week.

    Lobmeyr

  • april 2024 - ongoing
    factory tour

    We designed the factory tour for Laufen in Gmunden with a lot of details and small installations to guide and inform local and international guests.

    Laufen Gmunden

  • 5.4.2024 - 14.7.2024
    exhibition

    "inWastement" glass series is on show at the Klimabiennale in Vienna at the "design with a purpose" exhibition.

    Klimabiennale Wien

  • 15.9.2023 - 21.7.2024
    exhibition

    HEIMATEN. An exhibition and survey and an attempt to break with conventional takes on Heimat. the exhibition was shown at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (MK&G) in 2022. Our specially commissioned piece 'riparian cloud' is now also on show in Molfsee.

    Freilichtmuseum Molfsee

  • 01.06.2024 - 30.03.2025
    exhibition, adapted project

    A utopian insect swarm based on our 'curiosity cloud' developed with 13 children from Dresden swirls during the Kinderbiennale in the Japanische Palais. The participatory process resulted in 24 fantastic, colourful insects.

    Children's Biennale "Planet Utopia"

  • 30.05 2024 - 13.10.2024
    new project , exhibition

    All in! Re-Designing Democracy - Every aspect of democracy has been designed, therefore it can be designed differently. A new "Themis" claims in the exhibition for rights for Nature.

    Bundeskunsthalle

  • 10.05. 2024 - 23.06.2024
    exhibition

    20th anniversary international exhibition and series of events. Our glass project "access" is part of the exhibition.

    design without borders

one room – one species

the whole population of one endangered species
in one installation

  • year 2015

  • categories Limited Editions
    staging & spatial Installations

  • commissioned by

    Kunsthaus Wien

The loss of biodiversity was the focus of the project realLimited – one room, one species in the exhibition at the KUNST HAUS WIEN Garage. The total population of the moth species “cucullia tanaceti”, which is threatened by extinction, is represented as a light sculpture.
1,219* numbered moths made out of aluminium visualize all the moths of this species still living in Austria. Several arrangements of these metal insects form light sculptures with individual moths whirling around sources of light.
This momentary record of all the specimen of this species still existing in Austria revives the discussion about the growing exploitation of sensitive natural resources. The new installation in the series RealLimited visualizes real limitations and tries to enable us to grasp abstract numbers.
The six lamps of this series ‘limitedmoths – cucullia tanaceti’ are available via Design and Art.

 

With a certain amount of the generated money we support the ‘Naturfreikauf’ (redeem nature) by Naturschutzbund Austria, which buys natural areas where certain species were spotted and protects them in order to just stay as natural as possible.

species: cucullia tanaceti, rare nocturnal moth
conservation status Austria: critically endangered

*The numbers of the overall population of the ‘cucullia tanaceti’ include approximately 300-1300 specimen each year, according to the Austrian Federal Environmental Agency. Following extensive research and conversations with experts in the field, mischer’traxler estimated the population to be about 1200 specimen.

 

main image: Thomas Meyer – all the existing specimens of the highly endangered cucullia tanaceti are portrait in 6 lamps in one part of the room

a single specimen of 'cucullia tanaceti'

cuculia tanaceti / image source

light is filtered by the cluster of aluminium moths / image credit: Thomas Meyer

  • material

    100% aluminium moths (laser-cut, anodized, laserengraved and handrivetted), electronics for lamp

  • dimensions

    core lamp: about 65 x 30 x 35cm

    with single moths – one lamp: 120 x 100 x 35cm

    full installation: approx 400cm

  • production

    limited edition,
    6 lamps representative for the estimated population of approx. 1200 specimen of ‘cucullia tanaceti’

     

  • team

    Katharina Mischer, Thomas Traxler, Maria Bauhofer, Anais Bourcier

  • links