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"lots of
shiny stickers
a shared system
stars made of ice
antidote to
a plump body
alienated me
coated by you
being lost is something to strive for
The exhibition works with the notion that we are not alienated (production-oriented working) units and closed systems in the capitalist status quo but we are connected, interdependent and also done and un-done by each other."
Curated by: Alžběta Čermáková; Text: Alžběta Čermáková;
"Other people’s clothing is a group show with Kevin Desbouis, Pati Hill, Charlotte Houette, curated by Fiona Vilmer. In partnership with Les Bains-Douches (Alençon) & Gr_und (Berlin) in the frame of the Project Space Festival 2023.
The first occurrence of the exhibition Other people’s clothing took place at the art centre Les Bains-Douches in France. For this second part of the exhibition hosted by Gr_und, other people’s clothing presents itself as a version that suggests another way of appearing, continuing its investigation into attitudes of disappearance and possible fictions of self. The works by Kevin Desbouis, Pati Hill and Charlotte Houette, brought together for this exhibition, play with surface effects of attraction, suspicion and a promised intensity that operate through tactics of diversion, or what might be identified as a special effect or a joke. The exhibition questions the possible ways of being and being situated in reality, with the idea that something is always – and already – happening elsewhere, by summoning mechanisms of fictions and shifts within their own practice. These phenomena of absorption evoke, through their forms, more or less dramatic, more or less comical changes of state.
On the occasion of the Project Space festival, we will launch the edition of “Suckcess 2” by Kevin Desbouis, followed by a concert by Cesar Palace, the unstoppable drummer of La Colonie de Vacances (and the late Electric Electric). This feedback tamer organizes a tribal clash of pure rhythm and cosmic drone. Between dark minimalism on steroids and industrial experimentation."
"YEAH, BUT… is a exhibition that explores dark topics in a humorous way. Through the use of painting, video and VR, reflecting on crisis (both global and personal) and existential themes this art exhibit takes you on a journey to explore life’s big questions with wit and humor. Visitors are able to gain insight into their own lives through a prism of humour.
The show focuses on issues like identity, morality and mental health in a confusing society; as well as enjoying yourself through laughter & irony. This show not only provides thought-provoking content but it also allows viewers to discover moments of joy even when faced with fear or sadness from these deep conversations about life itself.
It reminds us that it is possible to find beauty and connection in any circumstance, even when facing the harshness of life’s realities.
What’s more, it encourages us to embrace the struggles that come with accepting nihilistic beliefs and use them as powerful tools for growth. In doing so, we can find solace in those moments of uncertainty while recognizing meaningfulness within the chaos.
By exploring the depths of life, YEAH, BUT… doesn’t only provide moments for contemplation and reflection but also emphasizes understanding & acceptance. This show not just inspires viewers to be mindful of their own existence in a fun way; it encourages them to accept that life is both challenging and unpredictable yet still filled with possibility.
It is a playful take on nihilistic thinking which encourages us to focus more on the things that are within our control, such as our attitude and outlook. This helps bring about empathy for others who may not be so lucky in life, and it can help people find comfort when facing difficult situations.
In short, YEAH, BUT… promotes the positivity of meaninglessness!"
"Venture into the depths of "Interplay," a playful yet thoughtful exhibition by media art collective GROUNDLESS, hosted at SomoS between June 23-25, '23 as part of the 2023 48 Hours Neukölln festival, themed “Play(ground).”
GROUNDLESS, a brainchild of Vinzenz Aubry, Özcan Ertek, Dawoon Park, Fang Tsai, Erik Anton Reinhardt, Jens Tiemann, and Orlando Helfer Rabaça, is an ensemble that took root at UdK Berlin. This group is unified by a shared quest to explore the critical interplay between humans, technology, and what’s left of nature.
The "Interplay" exhibition presents an immersive dialog between digital possibilities and human potential. The collective combines digital and traditional techniques, illustrating that embracing and finding our humanity in the digital realm can lead us towards liberating futures, unshackled by the forces that seek to corrupt the open spirit of cyberspace.In "Interplay," you're invited to play within the contours of the future - a future in which we involve microorganisms and computer vision in cultural processes that have long enriched our cultures. A future in which we jump through spaces while our balance and perspectives shift. In which we free mice from their cords, gaze out the window into the far-near world, look at the clocks regardless of our free time and will.
Step into the playground of the future and embrace your role in this creative interplay of desires and reality."
"Detached from any reference to concrete representationalism, Bach's motifs are reflections on fundamental questions of pictorial architecture: in his pictorial compositions, depth meets colour surface painting, and two- dimensionality meets spatial constructions.
The exhibition shows large-format works whose compositions are characterised by the division of the pictorial space into two halves.
A picture-within-a-picture principle in which each side stands on its own and yet corre- sponds with the other half. In this way, the layered colour and pattern surfaces create the illusion of a more or less deep space. At the same time, Bach leaves behind the conventional compositional pattern of a centred motif: the edge of the picture, the background and the interfaces become depth-giving levels, which meet monochrome, but not homogeneous elements.
In dialogue with this, Bach shows small-format works that are strung together like a narrative thread. While some of the motifs appear precise and controlled, others seem experimental and spontaneous – almost playfully revealing the painterly process. One could think that the motifs show sketches or key moments of his large- format paintings – shortcuts, in other words, a shortened form of presentation of the actual thing.
But anyone who thinks that these motifs are less powerful is mistaken, because taking shortcuts means first and foremost: breaking new ground."
"There is something archaic about material. Unformed, raw and unshaped: It seems to be that from which all life emerges and into which it returns. An eternal cycle in which the material changes, takes on new forms, colors and shapes, never remains the same and never perishes. What life of its own does material have, beyond the forms we see in it? Is there even unformed material, which is only matter, pure becoming and passing away? Only in connection with a form, according to Aristotle, matter becomes a thing. According to him, every material has its own inherent form, which is the task of the artist to uncover. The stone and the wood dictate what is to be carved from them, what is to be planed and chiseled from them. The form follows the material. The world of art emerges from the material.
Today we simply redevelop materials, depending on the context of use, and use the existing and technologically produced new for our purposes. The material is supposed to fit: If it does not, it is bent, heated and modified until it makes sense in our order. Or it is disposed of, sorted into the garbage, thrown into the sea, buried deep underground or cemented into a sarcophagus. Preferably for eternity. The material of the world becomes a resource that we exhaust, exploit, explore: Raw materials as well as animals or people.
But we do not always succeed in making the material compliant. Material is unruly, contradictory. Thoughts and dreams, for example, are materials that have a life of their own, that surprise us and force us to new interpretations. Depending on how one composes files, images or texts, what is simply present subsequently gains a different meaning, reveals a new depth, a new level, creates an unexpected connection. Material always holds its own history. It is archived time, sedimented development and layered meaning.
Each new access to the material brings forth something different."
Text: Anna Krewani
"Dear friends & colleagues! For our last exhibition before the summer break we have invited Bianca Pedrina from Basel. In her photographic installations, Pedrina deals with architecture and urban development in a way that is as subtle as it is playful. Unlike traditional architectural photography, she does not seek the untouched and well-planned, but rather that which has been improperly transformed by man and nature. Where most see only a loss of quality, Pedrina discovers the possibility of anarchy, higher justice, and humor. For her, the patina appears not as a flaw that must be repaired in order to uncover what is intrinsic, but as a trace that gives things their very reality and truthfulness."
"«Kolyska» in Ukrainian means cradle, home (place of origin, birth of the new) and swing.
The concepts of cradle and home imply familiarity and security, which were
and security that have been taken away from both refugees and defending Ukrainians.
The swing is a metaphor for life in a state of flux, ups and downs.
depths. They signify the power of one’s own impulse, but also that they are being pushed by someone else.
By someone else. As an element of children’s play equipment, swings are based on trust.
If you are pushed by someone else’s power, you find yourself at its mercy.
Because of the war, four young Ukrainian artists, Vicki Berg, Sofia
Golubeva, Aglaia Nogina, and Anastasia Pasichnyk were forced to leave their homeland in 2022.
In Berlin they continue to create intensively, although their goal is to return as soon as possible.
The Kurt Muhlenhaupt Museum invited artists who are members of the UCC (Ukrainian Cultural Community) to show their work.
Paintings, graphics, installations and carpet art will be featured. Their work, which
were created under the impression of the war and the refugee situation in Berlin,
will be juxtaposed with photographs by German photographer Simon Koy, which depict untouched
(landscapes, daily life, architecture and portraits) before the war."
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