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When Nevin Aladag demonstrates an interest in breakdance,
she is not concerned with an exotic subculture, but with a non-verbal
form of expression located between cultures – one which quite
frequently displays its subtle theatrical qualities. The moment
the dance is named after, the sudden break in the flow of movement,
is referred to as a freeze, because the breakdancer remains in the
pose he has adopted as if frozen into it. Nevin Aladag has photographed
twelve such freezes, performed by professional breakdancers, and
is now presenting these in Künstlerhaus Bethanien as a series
of large-format photographs. The shots were taken on the streets,
with a mass of passers-by or traffic in the background, meaning
that - as a result of long exposure times - the static element of
the freeze appears especially marked in contrast to the blurred,
moving background. Here Nevin Aladag directs our attention to the
borderline moment, the precise moment "when things become unclear"–
the tiny thousandth of a second, the pause, in which reality becomes
a daydream and the force of gravity seems to have been overcome.
(7th to 23rd November) |
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Rui Calçada Bastos exhausts all the possibilities
of the video medium by allowing a complete world of images to develop
on the screen using minimal equipment: “Bastos employs the
video medium and its potential in the way that others might use
a pencil. The minimal technical repertoire leads to a lively world
of images that does not merely develop on the screen, but uses this
as no more than its starting point.” (Doris von Drathen) Bastos’
works, which combine such a variety of media as video, installation,
photography and sound, are often concerned with concepts such as
identity, a sense of alienation, isolation and melancholy. The works
are located in a fictional sphere, but one which obviously includes
biographical features; the artist intermingles his imaginary world
with personal experiences and memories. (7th to 23rd November)
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RELAX are experts on the identity of institutions.
Their most recent installation describes the history of Künstlerhaus
Bethanien itself and also examines the square, Mariannenplatz,
located in front of the building. Our attention is directed towards
the secret change in values brought about by cost-cutting cultural
policy and towards the urban surroundings of the Künstlerhaus.
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After extensive research in Kreuzberg archives,
the cultural institution is viewed as a construct capable of change,
and cultural politics are thrown into question.
First of all, access is made more difficult. Separately accessible
installations demand from the user that he adapts to the exhibition
architecture, conveying an image of the frequently changing constellation
of relations between artistic development, the work of curators
and exhibiting. A studio, a curator’s office and an exhibition
space illustrate the way the institution is constituted, as if
in a model. A ground plan of Mariannenplatz, cast in rubber, supplements
the arrangement concerning the political terrain on which the
Künstlerhaus is constructed. At the same time, interlocking
video works present images of deceleration, and statements made
by the personnel and the public. Before this panorama, almost
lost on the floor and among glass cases in the dimly lit space,
we find torn strips and loose piles of archive material that have
been tipped out and blown about.
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