She has been called art’s most powerful person, a tireless questioner of humanity in the digital age. As the great German artist unveils a living work made of ferns and beer crates, she talks about her fights and victories

Hito Steyerl is at war with the commodification of art and the corrupting power of the market. What’s she fighting them with? Manure. Meet the new wave of artists asking us to reconsider everything from the web to war