OnView: Power

In a short black-and-white sequence, a white moth eats a hole into the mesh of a black knitted garment, separating the textile fabric. In à la Motte (1993), Rosemarie Trockel then has these images also playing backwards. This creates the impression that the moth is unraveling and re-sewing the fabric—partly performing delicate handiwork, partly destroying it. As in the myth of Sisyphus, this visual play reflects the endless repetition of an exhausting task.

In Wrestling (2002), two teenagers grapple on a summer meadow. Filmed from a bird’s-eye view, Jen DeNike captures the fine line between playfulness and seriousness in the rivalry between the two rival boys. Fun, exuberance, and the subtle eroticism of a trial of strength permeate the scene.

Karimah Ashadu’s Machine Boys (2024) focuses on the motorcycle taxis known as “Okada” in Lagos, which continue to operate illegally despite a government ban. The film portrays the daily challenges and rituals of Okada drivers, who flaunt their masculinity with imitation Ray-Ban sunglasses and Gucci slippers in their pursuit of financial success. Ashadu questions Nigeria’s patriarchal structures and highlights the vulnerability of a precarious working class.

In the mid-1970s, Lynda Carter became a new heroine on U.S. television with the series Wonder Woman. Dara Birnbaum appropriates this material in Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman (1978–79), editing the transformation from superheroine to secretary into an endless loop. The demanding reality of women’s lives between these poles remains concealed and is left to the viewer’s imagination.

In Dark in Dark (2012), a young woman wearing a long black skirt and headscarf stands in a barren landscape dominated by a power line. Her slow, deliberate actions leave ample room for interpretation. Erkan Özgen symbolically stages an act of female liberation and self-empowerment in opposition to the power and force of fanaticism.

From 1976 to 1989, Marina Abramović and Ulay tested physical and mental limits in their joint performances, exploring the possibilities of interpersonal relationships. Their bodies became instruments for expressing identity, existence, and social interaction. In the film documentation Light/Dark, based on the performance of the same name in Amsterdam in 1978, power, pain, injury, shame, and dependence play a central role.

The documentary fiction The Nuclear Football presents various institutional levels of power. As members of the official press pool, Korpys/Löffler participated in rehearsals and accompanied George W. Bush during his visit to Berlin in 2004. Rather than focusing on the ceremonial state occasion, the film reveals the concealed mechanisms behind such productions. The title refers to the nuclear football, which remains in the immediate vicinity of the head of state and symbolizes absolute power.

Casino Blooms (2026) by Shirin Sabahi captures the final days of Expo 2025 in Osaka. The camera lingers on the sea of flowers surrounding the world’s largest wooden structure. The blooming garden, however, conceals transformation in the sense of “soft power”: after six months, the structure will be dismantled and make way for a gambling complex. Shirin Sabahi views her image as a symbol of transition, suspended in the moment just before everything comes to an end.

Curated by Sara Bernshausen, Deputy Director, PalaisPopulaire