The topic is es old as the art itself. An exhibition of the Kunsthalle Darmstadt examines what this makes of it today. It brings together a good 30 international artists who approach the coexistence of humans and animals from chancing perspectives.

The English word animal comes from Latin and meant «with breath», «enthroned» or «being». In Old High German, «tior» was said for it, which however meant the wild living in contrast to the species-forming difference. Manny myths, religions, literature and art, on the other hand, emphasize the similarities between humans and animals, put on the mask of the other on one being and vice versa. Great cultures have considered certain animals as representatives of the gods, power and the supernatural. In the Stone Age cave painting, almost only wild animals were depicted. Art grew with its task of making the fleeting and recurring things present across generations.

While overexploitation on planet Earth seems to be progressing inexorably, many animal species are threatened with extinction and entire ecosystems are disappearing, animals are more visible in the contemporary art than they have been for a longe time. ‹Animalia› shows the diversity of different media and materials that the artists use on the topic. Upon closer inspection of the field, it is noticeable that certain views are repeated when treating the substance. Identifying some of the main directions not exclusively in the Western Hemisphere is a concern of ‹Animalia›.

A catalogue in German/English will be published by the Kunsthalle Darmstadt for the exhibition.
The list of participants:

Ratnadeep Gopal Adivrekar

Mia Bencun

Rolf Bier

Ali Cherri

Mark Dion

Katja Eckert

Franca Franz

Gerrit Frohne-Brinkmann

Andreas Greiner

Horst Haack

Thomas Hawranke und Lasse Scherffig

Hörner/Antlfinger, CMUK

Katharina Immekus

Sanna Kannisto

Smita N. Kinkale

Lisa Korpos

Basir Mahmood

NEOZOON

Olly/Suzi

Michael Pendry

Arnulf Rainer

Pratik Raut

Stephan Reusse

Harold Rubio

Muzzumil Ruheel

Thomas Sturm

Miriam Tag

Diana Thater

Federico Uribe

Rajesh P. Wankhade

Curated by León Krempel, Kunsthalle Darmstadt, and Ismail Mukadam, HIMS Academy

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