GRAZ.- The special exhibition of the Museum im Palais is part of the themed focus of ‘Landscape’ to be taken up at several locations of the Universalmuseum Joanneum and places at centre stage the relationship between man and Styria’s largest river – the Mur. In eight chapters, this exhibition sheds light on a space that has constantly re-evolved out of perception and experience, action and reaction, cultural and social practices, as well as due to the many protagonists involved.

Today, the Mur can be read not only as a varied natural area. Over centuries it has shaped the life of inhabitants here, just as they in turn have based their actions and aspirations around the river, attempting time and again to process and organise it so as to create a certain vision of it.

A re-evaluation is carried out of Mur-related objects that have been preserved, divided into several areas: ‘Imagination and Illustration’, ‘Non-Places and Hot Places’, ‘Overcoming and Controlling’, ‘The Atmosphere of the Mur’, ‘Functional Architectures’ or ‘Social Practice’ considering the relationship outlined between nature and man; in this, objects are shown not only from the collections of the Universalmuseum Joanneum, but also from regional museums located on the Mur.

In addition, a photo project is dedicated to the current space along the Mur with its historical remnants. The goal of the documentation of historical architectures and landscapes is to heighten awareness for the fact that history not only means the extinction and over-writing of signs, but is also omnipresent in remains and deposits beyond the four walls of the museum.