Schlossratte [Castle Rat], 2007

For the exhibition in the attic of the castle museum in Friedberg, Bavaria, Ottmar Hörl set up three hundred golden "castle rats" and a number of golden rat houses, spread out over the entire surface.

"I assumed that animals living in an attic can do so without being disturbed a lot. Rats are very intelligent and flexible – just as we humans are. The rats that lived in a castle over centuries have virtually ennobled themselves."

At the same time, this ironic remark shows that human beings and other creatures can adopt certain aesthetically more refined ways of living in some areas. And a castle as one's habitat speaks for itself ...