Series of three large-format paper artworks, recycling paper, clue
Petrified approaches the fossil as an image of human existence and explores the traces that it leaves behind. Fossils stand in an in-between state: They suggest both stillness and former movement, and they attract and unsettle at the same time. What we see are remains of living bodies whose vitality has disappeared, while their outer structure endures.
At first the creatures read as reptilian or prehistoric. On closer view, however, familiar elements appear: proportions, postures, and skeletal hints that feel strangely human. Recognition happens slowly and only in fragments.
The work circles around questions of transience and legacy. What might be left of us if our present were seen from a distant future? Displayed like museum finds, the fossil bodies shift the point of view. We are no longer the ones who look — we are the ones being looked at, reduced to imprints and residue.
Contradictions remain visible throughout. Fossils are usually linked to deep time and durability, yet these bodies seem brittle and incomplete. Some look almost at rest, others as if caught mid-motion. There is unease in that, but also a subtle sense of irony. Even in their rigid state, they seem to carry gesture and mood.
The use of recycled paper adds another layer: an overlooked everyday material becomes a stand-in for larger cycles of use, breakdown, and return.
Svea Baumann was born in Illertissen in 2003. She completed her degree in art education and history at the University of Augsburg in 2026 and is currently studying biology for education in Tübingen. Her artistic practice focuses on organic forms and earth-related themes: Particularly interested in plant and animal structures, she addresses aspects such as interiority, decay, and transformation as part of natural cycles.