Georges Adéagbo: La lumière qui fait le bonheur… / Eli Cortiñas: Walls Have Feelings / Demokratie heute – Probleme der Repräsentation

Georges Adéagbo. La lumière qui fait le bonheur…
Maschinenhaus M2

The assemblages by the Beninese artist Georges Adéagbo (* 1942 in Cotonou) follow the life courses and fates of people using the traces they leave behind: objects and documents attest to encounters and individual decisions. By having craftsmen in Benin produce paintings and sculptures based on photos and printed items collected on his travels, the artist opens up new perspectives on the seemingly familiar and challenges visitors to examine clichéd ideas and stereotypes. Adéagbo’s installations are always site-specific and dissolve hierarchies: all things are of equal importance to him. In his work, phenomena from pop culture transport stories just as much as canonised high culture: antiques from Benin can be found alongside “airport kitsch,” records by Beethoven alongside carnival music, commissioned oil paintings alongside reproductions from art history. Georges Adéagbo’s practice is an open system that is meant to be augmented and transformed by the viewers and challenges the conventional aesthetics of cohesive works as well as the singular icon acclaimed by the art market.

For his most extensive solo exhibition to date, Adéagbo is developing an installation at the KINDL that will occupy the entire exhibition space, drawing on elements from central works such as Tout de moi à tous (2007) and Une espace avec le monde (2007) and updating them with found objects from Neukölln and the KINDL archives.

The exhibition is curated by Kathrin Becker in cooperation with Stephan Köhler.

Eli Cortiñas. Walls Have Feelings
M1 VideoSpace

Eli Cortiñas (* 1979 in Las Palmas / Gran Canaria) uses found material from films, YouTube videos, advertisements, animations, and image archives in her video works, which she reproduces, rhythmises, and sets to music. In the visually striking video essay Walls Have Feelings (2019) she deals with the concepts of work and value creation, among other things. Cortiñas creates a dystopian picture of our present that links historical, political, and aesthetic aspects. The artist questions architecture as a manifestation and instrument of political power as well as the role of supposedly innocent objects and interiors in their function as silent witnesses, protectors, and amplifiers of power.

The exhibition is curated by Kathrin Becker.

Demokratie heute – Probleme der Repräsentation
Maschinenhaus M1

Around the world, many existing democracies are in a crisis: freedoms and options for political participation are being restricted or their use is declining, while the influence of so-called global players on political decisions is growing. This guest-curated exhibition takes the vulnerability of the basic democratic order in current systems as a starting point. In various media—including painting, sound, video, and installations—it illuminates problem areas such as burgeoning right-wing populism around the world, the mediatisation of politics, and the tension between inclusion and exclusion in decision-making processes. It also reflects on new forms of political participation and the relationship between extra-parliamentary protest and official politics.

The artistic positions of the nine artists are complemented by paintings created in an open studio in the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos. In addition, the project is augmented by the Assembly RST, which is conceived as a brainstorming session that addresses various aspects of the exhibition in free association. The accompanying publication is being produced in cooperation with Florian Malzacher and will take the form of a newspaper, a medium that contributes to the democratic process of decision making.

The exhibition is curated by Raimar Stange.

The exhibition is kindly supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

With: Pierre Bismuth, Claus Föttinger, Julia Lazarus, Erik van Lieshout, Marina Naprushkina, Oliver Ressler, Anja Schrey, Jonas Staal, Joulia Strauss

Artists from The Hope Project / Moria: Raha Amiri, Attaullah, Javad Emami, Fereshteh, Nazgol Golmuradi, Sahar Haqpana, Sara Hossini, Mohammad Jafari, Sara Juddin, Joseph Kangi, Senait Lelisa, Masoumeh, Ommolbanin, Rehab, Murtaza Safari, Sima, Jean-Paul Waroma, Batol Yasim

Assembly RST: Peter Friedl, Dieter Froelich, Bhima Griem, Nadira Husain, Daniel Johnston, Shila Khatami, Anna Meyer, Peter Niemann, Dan Perjovschi, Elizabeth Peyton, Markus Schinwald, Stefanie von Schroeter, Markus Uhr, Silke Wagner, Johannes Wohnseifer, Christine Würmell

On view until May 15, 2021 at the Kesselhaus:
Nik Nowak. Schizo Sonics

Press contact
Denhart v. Harling, segeband.pr: dh@segeband.de / T +49 179 4963497