the island and the aeroplane


September 27. - October 19. 2002

Opening September 26. at 7 pm
Party DJ Allen at 11 pm

Video screening in Z-bar, October 10. at 9 pm

Artists:
Tobias Bernstrup (S)
Emma Hedditch (GB)
Jesper Just (DK)
Susan Philipsz (GB)
Claudia Reinhardt (D)
Camila Sposati (BRA)

Curated by Sparwasser HQ/Lise Nellemann

 

The artworks presented in the exhibition "the island and the aeroplane" articulate physical emotions, exposing a lack of self-consciousness. The works have strong political undertones as well. "the island and the aeroplane" deals with the subject of the singular individual within the collective world. The exhibition does not simply juxtapose the self-contained, security-seeking individual with the open, collectively motivated (solidarity) individual. Nor does the exhibition deal solely with personal reactions to an alien environment (even within one's "own culture"). Rather, in a direct and sometimes melancholy way, the projects presented in "the island and the aeroplane" discuss the diversity of personal desires and the need for self-realization that are the conditions of life.

The artists reflect, in a variety of media, the different positions emerging in unique cultural spheres worldwide.

Claudia Reinhardt uses herself as a model to stage the suicides of female artists, women who became feminist icons after their deaths. These are not typical examples of victimized women; their decisions to commit suicide express strong wills and acts of protest. Reinhardt's interpretation of female suicide reflects also the pain of hopelessness and a break down of communication.

Tobias Bernstrup presents the viewer with an alternative method of escape and self-realization: the virtual world. His video "Polygon Lover," which contains an animated alter ego of the artist, imitates and influences reality. Digital existence encourages the artist to move further into a fetish-type lifestyle. Bernstrup works often with music, performance, and video installation. link to his homepage

Brazilian artist Camila Sposati shows the video "Attempt." Even a simple dialogue can seduce and provoke. In an intimate context, the audience is subjected to a power play, a 2-minute video sequence, repeated over and over again.

The naked voice of Susan Philipsz fills the room. Philipsz's songs do not seek to captivate and to transport us away from the immediate moment, but rather to heighten our individual senses of self and our awareness of the space we occupy together. The songs trigger private memories, but they are also a shared experience.

Jesper Just's video describes the sentimentality of life: half love, half despair, loneliness and togetherness, experienced simultaneously. The situation depicted is one of self-absorption, a purely dramatic romanticization that can be sensed, but cannot be escaped.

The works of English video-artist Emma Hedditch focus on the politics of working together. "I do know what I am going to do today" is comprised of found-footage that Hedditch request from volunteers, then re-edited to form newly constructed narratives. Hedditch questions the uniqueness or familiarity of filmed scenes, and problematizes matters of authorship and friendship.

Videos from "and i will do," a video distribution network for independent women video-makers in Europe, will be shown in Berlin at Z-bar on October 10. at 9 pm. For more information, please visit: http://www.andiwilldo.net

 

Thanks to Lotte Moeller

SPARWASSER HQ
OFFENSIVE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART AND COMMUNICATION
TORSTRASSE 161, 10115 BERLIN MITTE
WE-FR 4-7 PM / SA 2-6