The catalyst for Reading the Earth is the current ecological crisis, which poses major challenges for humans worldwide. At the centre of the exhibition is an interactive interpretation of the Earth, of the country and its inhabitants.

The thread is taken up by the microbiologist Lynn Margulis and the biophysicist James Lovelock, who introduced the concept of a symbiotic Earth, Gaia, into science in the 1970s. Gaia sets the horizon of a new experimental exploration of the current conditions of our existence.

The exhibition emerges from the multi-year research project The Dissident Goddesses Network run by the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in cooperation with Forum Morgen. The results of the research will be shared as part of the exhibition in a research lounge.