February 22–May 12, 2019
Düsseldorf 40221
Germany
Artists: Monica Bonvicini, Leda Bourgogne, Mariechen Danz, Nadira Husain, Jens Pecho, Lili Reynaud-Dewar, Ryan Trecartin
The body in the 21st century: a projection surface of the most varying demands made by oneself and by others, just as well as origin and domain of countless fantasies, wishes and desires. The human body is increasingly challenged by digitalization and the related possibilities created by its technical extensions. And yet it is more than just a node in a virtual data network, hovering in the middle of nowhere. Malleable but also fragile as it is, it still remains the basis of all our actions and thereby continues to challenge the notion of a disembodied cyberspace.
This complex interrelationship is examined in the exhibition Body in Pieces. The show addresses central contradictions of our times by example of the human body. In the works of the seven international artists, the body frequently appears in fragmented form. It is understood as a corporeal fabric that is deeply interwoven with external interests, whose boundaries have become porous in both a literal and an emblematic sense. Technological visions of the future, for instance, collide with reactionist moral values related to the body. The ostensibly free choice of body modifications underlies the neoliberal dictate of being responsible for one’s own body. At the same time, the body remains the organic basis of our longings and desires. Coalescing in the numerous installations, some created specifically for the exhibition, and in the presented videos, sculptures, paintings and wall paintings, are highly topical as well as timeless questions related to the human condition.
Curator: Julia Höner
The exhibition is supported by:
Kunststiftung NRW, Rudolf Augstein Stiftung, Hyatt Regency Düsseldorf, Institut Français
KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION cooperates with the tanzhaus nrw
KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION and the tanzhaus nrw are simultaneously dedicating themselves to the theme of the body in the context of our living environment and its potential in the future.
The Hi, Robot! Das Mensch Maschine Festival, initiated by tanzhaus nrw Düsseldorf, gathers voices from dance, performance, visual arts, science and coding in more than 20 events, and it asks: How much robot can a human take?
Scary Beauty, the opening concert and German premiere by and featuring Keiichiro Shibuya and the Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra Düsseldorf, for example, puts the humanoid android Alter 3 into focus. In addition an exhibition and solo performances such as the recent endeavour by Japanese programmer, interaction designer and DJ Daito Manabe, as well as a conference conceptualised by Austrian media and cultural scientist Karin Harrasser, invite visitors to extensive discussions on the topic.
Session by Clemens Krauss
Together with the tanzhaus nrw, KAI 10 is realizing the performative-participatory project Session by the artist Clemens Krauss, who is also psychoanalyst. Whereas the projects at KAI 10 and tanzhaus nrw each focus the various extensions and contemporary conditionings of the body, the joint event addresses the continually current question about the unconscious psychological processes that steer the body. For the project Session visitors are invited to book an individual session with Clemens Krauss on three scheduled appointments. The sessions broach the issue of the interplay of organic-corporeal procedures and unconscious psychological processes within the body and correspond to a classical psychoanalytical-therapeutic setting.
Further information and appointments: sitzung@performancekai10.de, T +49 (0)211-99434130
