A bronze object hangs from a chain in a tree in the park. Its shape is reminiscent of both a chestnut seed pod and of a morning star – an organic protective structure as well as a weapon.

The work uses the seed pod as a model of a protective space: before a seed can germinate, it is enclosed in a resilient shell that shields it from external influences. This shell is produced by the seed itself, develops with it, and protects its fragile core. Self-protection thus appears not as isolation but as a physical strategy between the inside and the outside, between vulnerability and resistance.

The work captures the state of ‘not yet’, the very moment of transformation in which the object is in limbo. We often wait for the result, thereby failing to recognise the potential of the transformation itself. Our impatience is always directed towards what comes next. Schutzmantel draws attention to the power of metamorphosis. Both the object and the building before which it hovers germinate in their own time, simultaneously powerful and temporarily sealed.

Installation view: „Tell Me, Grounds“, 2026, Kunsthaus Bauers Park