I Could Be a Ninja but I Am Oil
by Philip Gaißer and Niklas Hausser
15 September – 20 October 2013
Although wild garlic is covering the forest floor like a carpet, it doesn’t quite invite us to lay down and let ourselves sink into it. Aside from those green leaves, the lilies of the valley are also flourishing in near-equal quantities – unfortunately for those who can’t tell the difference between the two. They only show their true colors when it comes time to blossom and by that time, the garlic plant has long since developed a sharp scent and grown unpalatable. Even a star athlete can only cover the path to the other side of the Auwald at the slowest pace. As invincible as its tires may look, the motorcycle is simply not made for this soft ground. The approaching Ninja can already be heard from afar, but I don’t turn around to look until the bike and its driver come to a stop 200 meters behind me. I had only known the sun was setting because the shadows were growing steadily longer. The driver digs around in his bag until he finds a camera. Clearly, it was the sunset that had moved him to stop. He takes a picture.
Nothing more than the color green would seem to link the vegetation in the Auwald with the Kawasaki. In the dance of reflecting light, the one looks like camouflage and the other like a signal. The bag is now closed again. The machine roars impressively and blasts off, leaving behind it a cloud of dust that rapidly dissipates.