Die Wüste

The desert in its symbolic value as the last territory before the boundary of the world, a hostile and inhospitable paradise representing the only bond left with the primitive state of the Earth. In this environment the most profound existential experiences can occur. Here American Indians, bedouins and shamans practice the cult of absolute freedom. But the presence of Western civilization is a threat for the balance that man and nature have achieved in these desolate lands. The Shashone Indians' water reservoirs are contaminated by radioactive waste, the Atacama desert in Chile is spoilt by the largest copper mine in the open air. But "death and life, devastation and rebirth are both part of the desert's mystery" (E. Demant).