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  • The Problem Today Is Not The Other But The Self

Berlin

The Problem Today Is Not The Other But The Self

ART: The title of this group show is based on Byung-Chul Han's essays, in which the philosopher describes our constant striving for freedom and self-realization as a social constraint.

The problem today is not the other but the self is an exhibition of works by artists who question the current status of subjective freedom.”

Although they are of different generations, the six-featured artists are “concerned with questions arising from the increasing neo-liberalization of society and digitalization of communication.” Their works reflect the themes of freedom and powerlessness.

Lena Henke’s wall works are rooted in urban development and urban design concepts. Her cast of façade structures from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant delivers a sense of self-initiative and self-responsibility, as the only way towards a better future. 

In Untitled Film (2013), Doug Ashford’s slow motion pornographic scenes seem confrontational but by overlaying the explicit material with fields of color he forces us to re-consider “our constant striving for freedom and self-realization.”

The show also includes Andy Coolquitt’s installations of found materials and objects, which he calls “somebody-mades” and “in-betweens” and the artist duo James Gregory Atkinson & Helen Demisch’ s site-specific works. 

The problem today is not the other but the self. | MINI/Goethe-Institut Curatorial Residencies Ludlow 38. Through Apr 5.  Tues-Sun 13:00-18:00, and by appointment.

Sunday Talk, March 22, 16:00