Martin Skauen confronts the viewers of his drawings and animated films with some truly apocalyptic scenarios. In formats that are sometimes quite huge, he evokes dismal places that may be the scenes of murder, war or cruel rituals. Skauen’s pictorial language owes much to the nightmarish visions of Hieronymus Bosch, for example, or to Greek mythology or contemporary sadomasochist comics. He creates these disturbing motifs with sarcasm or very black humour, and the erotic is couple with violence or its latent presence. In these images one sees the figures of martyrs, torturers, perverts and hermaphrodites interacting in a multitude of ways, whereby the narrative ‘scene’ always remains mysterious, admitting several interpretations. His filmic loops - produced on the basis of drawings - are to be understood in the sense of “extended drawings”: both formats define and influence each other mutually and underline the artist’s interest in the transitory. Whether static or moving, Martin Skauen’s pictures radiate a strange, melancholy fascination, which utterly enthralls the viewer. The artist is showing a selection of recent works in Studio 2.
Martin Skauen holds a fellowship from the Office for Contemporary Art Norway in the context of our International Studio Programme.

Martin Skauen - Servants Swept the Sand Smooth
19th September – 5th October 2008, Studio 2
Wed – Sun, 2 – 7 pm
Opening Thursday, 18th September 2008, from 7 pm

An Te Liu’s space-consuming sculptures and installations consist of standard commercial electrical devices to filter and moisten the air. Piled up beside and on top of each other in the exhibition space, with their straightforward design, air vents and slats, and the cool white and grey colours of their cases, they resemble the model constructions of architectonic Modernism: functional forms, more light and air, and so better atmospheric hygiene. Liu makes use of the formal repertoire of historical Modernism, and references to this in his installations flow into fictive scenarios of the future; when air filters and ionisers are gathered and mounted on panels floating in space, for example, they suggest a futuristic space city or an armada of space-ships that has been launched to defend the galaxy against an attack of killer microbes.
An Te Liu’s current project “Matter” (2008) makes the particles of dirt or dust in the air around us into the focal point of a filmic installation that resembles a scientific experimental set-up: a camera films the floating particles and the individual images are projected onto two large surfaces. However, the timing of the projections is different, meaning that a growing discrepancy develops between the projections during the course of the exhibition, but also between what is filmed and one transmission; as a result, a discrepancy between reality and image, belief and knowledge also emerges.

An Te Liu holds a fellowship from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ottawa, and the Canadian Embassy, Berlin, in the context of our International Studio Programme.
An te Liu - Matter
19th September – 5th October 2008, Studio 3
Opening: Thursday, 18th September 2008, from 7 pm

“Even in the year Juche 97, which is known elsewhere as 2008, North Korea seems to be on a different planet. The Great Leader Kim Il Sung, who died in 1994, rules as an Eternal President. His son Kim Jong Il is the much-loved leader. Military parades are flashy. Statues are up to 20 metres high. The precision of mass gymnastics takes your breath away. Little permeates to the outside. Little penetrates to the inside. North Korea orbits around itself. North Korea is an irritation. It threatens its neighbours with the atom bomb, fails to feed its population adequately, and operates secret penal camps. The few thousand visitors each year see nothing of this. The totalitarian regime guides its guests through a total stage-production of the state.” (Christoph Möskes) The exhibition PjönjangPjönjang by Jenny Rosemeyer and Eva-Maria Wilde attempts to reflect the two artists’ private journey through North Korea in the year 2007. In this context, both external and internal views of North Korea are presented and long-established positions are questioned. The artists take a critical look at the construction of the artist as an observer and at his/her relation to society as well as reviewing existing research. The exhibition’s theme is the transformation of political into subjective artistic aesthetics. Works are shown that reflect the actual subject of observation - the country of North Korea with its current and historical contradictions – yet immersed in artistic aesthetics. The artists represent their view of the country and its society in objects, three-dimensional works, photographs and collages. To supplement this, various other artists will be invited to show their existing works about North Korea. A small video library with original film material from North Korea and critical documentaries about the country from recent years will be made available to the exhibition visitors. In addition, travel literature and further documentary material will be provided for reading. By presenting a view of the country characterised by a subjective artistic standpoint and yet also incorporating a documentary level, the intention is to facilitate a new perspective on the phenomenon North Korea for visitors. PjöngjangPjöngjang exhibits artistic contributions by: Arno Brandlhuber, Martin Eberle, Juliane Eirich, Hans-Christian Schink and Nicolai von Rosen (Future 7). Curator of the exhibition is Peter Lang, Berlin. During the exhibition opening - at 8 pm on 18th September - we will be showing the film Der Rote Stern - Alltag in Nordkorea (2006) by Bernd Girrbach and Elke Werry. At 7 pm on 25th September, Jörg Friedrich will be reading excerpts from his book Yalu. An den Ufern des dritten Weltkrieges (Propyläen-Verlag, 2008) among the exhibits in Studio 1.
PjöngjangPjöngjang is being realised with generous support from the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Senate Office – Cultural Affairs.
Pj ö n g j a n g P j ö n g j a n g
Jenny Rosemeyer, Eva-Maria Wilde & Guests Exhibition: 19th September – 5th October 2008 Wednesday – Sunday, 2 – 7 pm, Studio 1 Opening: Thursday, 18th September 2008, 7 pm