Daniel Beerstecher (*1979 in Schwäbisch Hall) dedicates his work to the question of man’s place in the world. He addresses this through international travelling performances, installations and special projects. A recurring theme in his works is the connection between man and nature. The artist perceives this as disturbed or alienated, as in today’s fast-paced and increasingly digitalised world, we can hardly experience an intense perception of nature. Beerstecher counters this disparity with projects that focus on intensive, conscious and decelerated experience.

His video performance ‘Walk in Time’, the first ‘Slow Walk Marathon’ in history, is characteristic of this approach. He walked around 42 kilometres over 60 days. By deliberately moving slowly, he only walked around 120 metres per hour. Behind the performance is the realisation of our stressed perception. The faster you move, the less you perceive of your surroundings. The brain can process around 50 per cent more peripheral visual information if you move on foot instead of by car. So what happens if you radically reduce your usual speed again?

For Sand by the Sea, the artist walked across the Sahara with a surfboard under his arm. The thoroughly romantic images contrast with the absurdity of the situation: in a place without water, a surfing outfit will not be able to fulfil its function.

For ‘How I explain the world to my bird’, Beerstecher took a bird on a journey in its cage and travelled with it from São Paulo to the sea. The combination of the confining cage, human civilisation and the act of transporting the airworthy bird on foot make the action a highly symbolic statement about our relationship with nature.

About the artist:
Between 2003 – 2010, Beerstecher studied at the Stuttgart State Academy of Fine Arts. He has received numerous scholarships and awards for his artistic work and has exhibited his works internationally in renowned institutions, including solo exhibitions in São Paulo, Göppingen, Rio de Janeiro, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart and Berlin, as well as participating in group exhibitions at Istanbul Modern, Istanbul; the B3 Biennale of the Moving Image, Frankfurt and the Montevideo Biennale 500 Years of Future.