In his first Australian solo exhibition, This is not the Storm , Julius von Bismarck brings together a major new kinetic sculpture, photography and immersive video installations in a presentation spanning more than two decades of practice, much of it shown in Australia for the first time.

With wry humour, von Bismarck challenges our habitual understanding of the natural world, teasing apart the idea of ‘nature’ as a social construct – a romanticised arcadia, an economic resource, a benevolent or vengeful force. This is not the Storm showcases the breadth of von Bismarck’s practice, characterised by a sense of continual experimentation, scientific curiosity and technical virtuosity. His works emerge from direct, physical encounters and collaborations with elemental forces that defy human control. Accentuating the awe, wonder and terror that natural phenomena can provoke, von Bismarck constructs poetic, unsettling, and oftentimes absurd encounters that problematise our understanding of reality and our relationship with the environment. In doing so, he signals the disastrous consequences of humanity’s domination of the natural world in the age of the Anthropocene—prompting us to reconsider the logic and systems that have brought us here.