translated and summarized by: Liz Wollner-Grandville,
030614: Haus am Waldsee, KW Institute for Contemporary Art : 8th Berlin Biennale
Haus am Waldsee, KW Institute for Contemporary Art
8th Berlin Biennale
29.05.2014 – 03.08.2014
More blood
By Thomas Kuhn
In the House of Artworks in Mitte, Juan A Gaitán honours the chosen artists with the same generosity as he does in Dahlem. So the space on the first floor is dedicated to a complete installation by Leonor Antunes (*1972, Lissabon). With art-and-crafts materials and forms, the artist uses products manufactured from natural materials by pre-Columbian demographic groups from Brazil.
On the next floor, Judy Radul (*1962, Lillooet) forms a connection to the Dahlem Museum and, on two screens, presents synchronised recordings from the museum with live pictures of the art works, which give the impression of parity between place and time.
Colonization hand in hand with industrialization and nationalization in interplay between powerlessness and emancipation is substantially interwoven in a further complex of works. Bianca Baldis' (*1985, Johannesburg) video installation, "Zero Latitude" relates to the Africa researcher, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza and his camp bed by Louis Vuitton. Santu Mofokeng (*1956, Johannesburg) devotes himself, photographically, to the loss of tribal homelands as a consequence of the industrialization of his country. Works by Shilpa Gupta (*1976, Bombay) and Cynthia Gutiérrez (*1978, Guadalajara) are also to be seen.
The parts of the exhibition in the Haus am Waldsee turns out to be a negligible quantity. The institution does feature an outdoor sculpture of Slavs and Tartars as one of the highlights of the Biennale – it thematises the political dimension of the translation of the Islamic call to prayer in Turkish on Ataturk's initiative - but in Mitte and Dahlem, the palpable meditative aspect gives way to a certain vapidity. Here, Patrick Alan Banfield (*1984, Munich), Matts Leiderstam (*1956, Gothenburg), Carla Zaccagnini (*1973, Buenos Aires) exhibit their works. A deliberate dovetailing with the original function of the building as a residence doesn't function; the conjunction suffers in a manner from objects borrowed from other parts of the exhibition (A Private Collection), because there is a slight lack of blood and yellow gall...
Haus am Waldsee
14163 Berlin, Argentinische Allee 30
Tel: +49-30 / 801 89 35
Fax: +49-30 / 802 20 28
E-mail: info@hausamwaldsee.de
http://www.hausamwaldsee.de
Opening hours: Tue – Sun from 12 - 20 hours
KW Institute for Contemporary Art
10117 Berlin, Auguststraße 69
Tel: 0049 (0) 30. 24 34 59 0
Fax: 0049 (0) 30. 24 34 59 99
E-mail: info@kw-berlin.de
http://www.kw-berlin.de
Opening hours: Tue - Sun 12:00 - 19:00, Thu 12:00 - 21:00
030614
Haus am Waldsee
14163 Berlin, Argentinische Allee 30
Tel: +49 30 801 89 35, Fax: +49 30 802 20 28
Email: info@hausamwaldsee.de
http://www.hausamwaldsee.de
Öffnungszeiten: Di - So 11-18 h
KW Institute for Contemporary Art
10117 Berlin, Auguststraße 69
Tel: 0049 (0) 30. 24 34 59 0, Fax: 0049 (0) 30. 24 34 59 99
Email: info@kw-berlin.de
http://www.kw-berlin.de
Öffnungszeiten: Mi-Mo 11-19, Do 11-21 h
Haus am Waldsee
14163 Berlin, Argentinische Allee 30
Tel: +49 30 801 89 35, Fax: +49 30 802 20 28
Email: info@hausamwaldsee.de
http://www.hausamwaldsee.de
Öffnungszeiten: Di - So 11-18 h
KW Institute for Contemporary Art
10117 Berlin, Auguststraße 69
Tel: 0049 (0) 30. 24 34 59 0, Fax: 0049 (0) 30. 24 34 59 99
Email: info@kw-berlin.de
http://www.kw-berlin.de
Öffnungszeiten: Mi-Mo 11-19, Do 11-21 h