The Boxwood has a long history in European horticulture. The ancient Romans already framed their garden beds with boxwood hedges and brought the shapeable plant with them to conquered areas. BUXUS in German rhymes with “Luxus”[luxury], which seems fitting in light of the expansion in popularity of the tree into the gardens of Versailles as well as the suburbs of Germany. BUXUS also rhymes with the name of a well-known art movement; indeed, it could be argued that the controlled styling of the plant has become an art movement in itself. When Dagmar Weiß came to the region of Münster for an artist residency, she didn’t plan on realizing a cinematic project. However, the location, which is characterized by newly constructed buildings from the 1990s, carports, rockeries, and, well, Boxwoods, triggered a feeling of trepidation, of being watched. The new surrounding seemed to influence behavior and movement, which gave her the impulse to respond to it. Thus, the work also became a means of establishing contact for her. Four photographs of empty front yards and five videos of choreographies came out of this. Although Dagmar Weiß had for previous projects mainly worked with professional actors, it soon became clear to her that, for BUXUS, the performers had to be locals. Taking as her point of departure the shape of front yards, which she remodeled into stages, the artist created choreographies and started searching for people to perform them. The performers comply with the design, walking on paths and executing movements that are prescribed by the strict architecture of the gardens. They disappear behind trees, move their heads in circles, or swing their arms through the air like waves. The participation of local residents can be read as an element of self-irony, but above all they take a sovereign position capable of critical analysis. As actors of their own – with all the natural resistance of amateur actors to directing – they take part in a kind of questioning and reflection of their living environment. Dagmar Weiß asks about the purpose and effect of order and neatness: What aesthetic, and social standards exist here? Who establishes them and who complies to them? Questions that could also be asked of pictures, she says, since she also uses a structured aesthetic in her photography and cinematic work. Simply put, structure also exercises power and can become a means for aesthetic and social control. But where is it a prerequisite for the development of living together, of communication or artistic work, and where does it have a restrictive or even hostile effect?