• Pressrelease_verträumt_2023

This year we celebrate 10 years of artburst berlin! We are taking this as an opportunity to look back as well as forward. Our two corresponding exhibitions in summer and autumn are therefore dedicated to the future and the past. We begin with the exhibition "verträumt" (“dreamy”) in cooperation with StudierendenWERK BERLIN.

The exhibition explores the theme of dreams and their many meanings. The works presented in the exhibition illustrate how different the approaches to this topic can be and highlight different themes. Because in our dreams we first and foremost process our own reality. Sometimes we are trapped in a nightmare, sometimes we dream of a parallel world to escape from everyday life. Thus dreams always have the potential of bringing forth something new. In visions of the future, a dream can, for example, bring groups together to develop alternatives to the present reality. A utopia can thus release forces to cope with the present, to imagine a "just" future and to fight for it. Whether these visions are perceived as utopian or dystopian depends on the social position of the individual. For utopian and dystopian living conditions do not arise in a vacuum, but are always conditioned by prevailing power structures, such as the capitalist world order, patriarchy and white supremacy.

So what influences our dreams? How do they become reality? And when does a utopia become a dystopia? In the exhibition "verträumt", eight artists attempt to make these often fluid images and narratives tangible. Their works each represent individual approaches to their own dream worlds or give visitors the opportunity to engage with their own dreams.

The artist Nora Awad depicts natural dream worlds in her large-format paintings. Different materials and many layers of colour create dynamic pictorial worlds that invite the viewer to sink into them and offer space for their own associations. Marie Salcedo, too, invites visitors to immerse themselves in her interactive ceramic Who is ruling our dreams?, to merge with it and to engage with their own dreams. In her series Vorsaison, Antonia Leicht takes a look at the massive hotel complexes on the island of Mallorca and questions the reality of these backdrop-like places. In her installation and video work She held up a mirror, Maja Zagórska deals with a cyber-feminist approach to everyday situations of a hybrid person and, on this basis, questions binary attributions.  The installation: Ein Sprecher und ein Zuhörer (A Speaker and a Listener) by Suah Im consists of monumental dolls in orange robes that are a reference to South Korean totem poles. These act as protectors of a safe community and become emblematic figures in the exhibition that interact with the visitors. In her immersive video installation In Morpheus Arms, Isabella Palacios creates a dream world through which visitors are guided by Morpheus, the god of dreams. Emilie Rosati deals with the playful element of dreaming in her plaster sculpture. Like in a sandbox, toys seem to be buried in it, encouraging us to reflect on our own imagination. Finally, in her installation Ich bin Du, Du bist Ich (I am You, You are Me), Yewon Seo explores the utopian notion of a matriarchal society. Based on the mythology of the South Korean Jeju Island, the artist creates a three-part video work that imagines a solidary, safe space for women*.

The exhibition is complemented by a framework programme that includes a vernissage, a musical performance, a workshop with performance and a video art night. On Saturday, the artist and saxophonist Efim Braylovskyi will transport the audience into an acoustic dreamscape with an improvised musical performance. On Sunday, the workshop Dreaming Futurity will take place. This workshop, as well as the subsequent performance Dreaming Change, was created according to a concept by Sumona Dhakal and will be presented together with the performers Val de Licer, Han(nah) and Naledi-Maskia. Finally, a Video Art Night will take place again this year. The short films Metanoia by Giovanna Wolney de Souza & Aaron Ryan, Scolytus Scolytus or Effes Weltenpolitiken by Helena Ommert & Thesea Efstathopoulos and She held up a mirror by Maja Zagorska will be shown there. The anniversary catalogue, with all works from 2023, will be published as part of the exhibition "(re)producing memories" in September 2023.

This year we have collaborated with the AR[T]CHES, the art association of the Science Po in Lille, France. Their exhibition "Je(u)", taking place in September, will focus on the theme of the self and play. As part of the collaboration, we will show Emilie Rosati's sculpture in Berlin, while Isabella Palacio's work In Morpheus Arms will be presented in Lille.