The Painted Heron is a long durational road journey film performance conceived by Maria Stamenković Herranz. The performance piece captures through film the daily progression of a journey from East to West - starting in Novi Sad, Serbia, and ending in Kleve, Germany. Combining walking and train travel, the journey unfolds through a mix of mapped routes and improvised decisions. Throughout the trip, the performer carries a living sunflower on her back. After seven days, the sunflower will be replanted in a field behind the castle at Museum Schloss Moyland. Rather than following a traditional narrative structure, the journey is captured in daily segments, later assembled into a continuous video that preserves the rawness of each clip. The film will loop throughout the day in the museum space, inviting viewers to experience the rhythm and reality of the journey. It functions both as documentation and as an extension of the performance itself. Conceived in dialogue with the legacy of Joseph Beuys and Marina Abramović, The Painted Heron reflects on the lasting impact of their artistic, ecological and political engagement. It also addresses Beuys' ecological philosophies, his work Eurasia and his visit to the Belgrade SKC in 1974. The sunflower exposed to shifting weather, borders, and encounters embodies both fragility and endurance. Known for absorbing toxins from damaged soil, it symbolizes resilience and healing. Its movement across territories raises questions of land, belonging, and ecological care. The performance route, shaped by histories of war and fragmentation, reflects on personal and collective memories. Arriving at Schloss Moyland - a site marked by WWII trauma - the replanting becomes a gesture of regeneration. Influenced by the agricultural practice of barbecho (fallow), The Painted Heron embraces stillness, suggesting transformation through care, pause, and attention.