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
sponsored by