später sein wird / will be later

Helping an apple tree grow into its ideal form.

When you combine the unobstructed space throughout the square in front of Paderborn Hauptbahnhof, the surrounding utilitarian urban elements, and the purist staccato of the new building section, it all appears to be intentionally strung together like a sort of display model. With that in mind, this prototype stencil of an apple tree has been added to the ensemble. Over the course of the next 25 to 30 years, a young apple tree will grow to fill the outline of this “ideal form” – which is an old apple tree that the artist drew from memory.

Passersby, motorists, and returning visitors will observe the treetop gradually approaching the outline over time. The remaining period of growth can be estimated by the amount of space between the actual tree and the artist’s tree cutout. In turn, it also draws attention to our own aging.

With this natural clock, travelers visiting the city at longer intervals will be made aware of the time that has past and the time that remains as soon as they leave the train station. In the future, people seeing the tree for the first time might assume that the city had given it a frame to highlight it as an exemplary tree.

There is no desired “outcome” for this work. The tree’s future form is equally as important as the observed process of its development. This constellation of elements will remain current and relevant for a long period of time.

(Text: Christian Hasucha)