Exhibition view, "The Architecture of Confinement" (June 19th-October 17th, 21st), BNKR Munich. Photography: Dominik Gigler.
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THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONFINEMENT CURATED BY SAM BARDAOUIL AND TILL FELLRATH
In his film "Grand Hotel Barbès", Ramzi Ben Sliman portrays a young leading actor who is unable to pay the rent for his room and who takes to the streets early in the morning from a shabby hotel in the north of Paris. On his stroll through the city, he encounters a group of breakdancers who are battling out a competition. He buys himself into the contest with his last coins and enchants the audience with classical ballet, which he performs to the music of Mozart. Breakdance originated in the streets of New York’s poorest neighborhoods and is performed with one's head pinned into the ground. Classical ballet, on the other hand, with its ascending movements and its emphasis on lightness and sublimity is often considered an artform for a privileged few. The film director plays with this common prejudice and poetically challenges social and ethnic boundaries.
Grand Hôtel Barbès, 2018, short film 12 min 13 sec. With Ulysse Sa Silva, Ali Ramdani (Bboy Lilou), Junior Bosila Banya (Bboy Junion), Kévin Staincq (Bboy Lil Kev), Cindy Martinez (Bgirl Minzy), Fouzia Benouaret. Courtesy the artist and ONP / Les Films Pelléas. "The Architecture of Confinement" (June 19th-October 17th, 21st), BNKR Munich. Photography: Dominik Gigler.
Source: BNKR München
THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONFINEMENT CURATED BY SAM BARDAOUIL AND TILL FELLRATH
The video and sound installation "our Solo" by Annika Kahrs experiments with mixing the perception of music in a classical concert hall and of music played in a private setting. Four professional musi-cians are seen, who seemingly enter into a dialogue across physical distances. Three of these mu-sicians play alone in their private homes, to practice pieces of music and melodies, and improvise individual fragments of sound. Their music seems to transcend through the walls of an empty con-cert hall, and onto the stage of an opera singer. Different melodies emerge and invite her directly to interact with these domestic performances and intimate moments. The presentation of the work in the basement of BNKR blurs the boundaries between listening and performing, indoor and outdoor space, and between private and public music.
Annika Kahrs, Filmstill our Solo, 2021. Video and 5-channel sound installation, 22 minutes. With: Derya Yıldırım, Joseph Houston, Phuong-Dan, Freja Sandkamm. Commissioned work for the exhibition "The Architecture of Confinement", BNKR Munich. Courtesy the artist and producer gallery Hamburg. "The Architecture of Confinement" (June 19th-October 17th, 21st), BNKR Munich. Photography: Dominik Gigler.
Source: BNKR Munich
THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONFINEMENT CURATED BY SAM BARDAOUIL AND TILL FELLRATH
The sculpture "T42 (gold)" is characteristic of Mona Hatoum's approach whereby simple, everyday objects are transformed with an uncanny and humorous touch of Surrealism. In this work, Hatoum has subverted the basic form of a white china tea cup by doubling it so that the resulting object sug-gests something highly intimate, which, like The Kiss of Brancusi depicts two forms so close they have merged together. The work's title points to the social formality associated with drinking tea, which is at odds with the romantic gesture of the sculpture itself. Within the context of the exhibition the artwork visualizes how two people who are intimately connected can at the same time confine their individual movements and actions.
Mona Hatoum, T42 (gold), 2019, Gold trimmed ne stoneware in two parts. Courtesy the artist, private collection. "The Architecture of Confinement" (June 19th-October 17th, 21st), BNKR Munich. Photography: Dominik Gigler.
Source: BNKR München
THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONFINEMENT CURATED BY SAM BARDAOUIL AND TILL FELLRATH
In "Modulor I" Nadia Kaabi-Linke traces the dimensions of prison cells that are used for solitary con-finement in various institutions worldwide. Upon entering the exhibition space visitors immediately become part of the installation, to find themselves, without being conscious of it, within the imagi-nary cells. The title of the work is a direct reference to Le Corbusier’s Modulor and his idea of the rationalization of a given space and its optimal form. The overlapping lines, which depict the dimen-sions of the cells, create an abstract and geometric spatial drawing. Both the narrow architecture of the exhibition space and the blocked view to the outside further point to the living conditions of the prisoners. By referencing the locations of the respective prisons, the installation offers an overview of the different detainment conditions and poignantly visualizes the architecture of the confinement.
Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Modulor I, 2014/2021, site-specific installation, brass, MDF, courtesy the artist and M +. Museum, Hong Kong. "The Architecture of Confinement" (June 19th-October 17th, 21st), BNKR Munich. Photography: Dominik Gigler.
Source: BNKR München
THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONFINEMENT CURATED BY SAM BARDAOUIL AND TILL FELLRATH
The work "It is all in his head" by Özgür Kar symbolizes a reduced vision of human life at its lonely core. Two connected screens portray the outline of a human figure in an embryonic position, which seems to have fallen asleep. Permeating the exhibition galleries, the figure emits barely recogniza-ble words and sounds, which are reminiscent of lullabies and childhood dream worlds. Gradually minimal movements of the figure become apparent, merging both its adult and infant traits. The architecture of the exhibition space and the black frame of the two monitors reinforce the ambiva-lent feelings of protection, captivity and loneliness.
Özgür Kar, It is all in his head, 2020, Two 4K videos with sound, 20ʼ (loop), Two 75 ”TVs, TV stands, Media players, Cord-reel. Courtesy the artist and Edouard Montassut, Paris. "The Architecture of Confinement" (June 19th-October 17th, 21st), BNKR Munich. Photography: Dominik Gigler.
Source: BNKR München
THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONFINEMENT CURATED BY SAM BARDAOUIL AND TILL FELLRATH
A central element in Joanna Piotrowska’s work is the relation of the body to the physical space. Upon entering and leaving the exhibition the viewer encounters an image of overlapping doors. The inherently conflictual composition creates doubt about whether they provide a way out, or whether they are physical obstacles on their own. Another work installed at the entrance of the first main room portrays two pairs of hands clenched into each other in a conflictual gesture of support and restraint. In her series "Frantic", from which three different works are seen throughout the exhibition space, the artist asked different individuals to erect temporary shelters with objects found in their apartments. The residents are portrayed huddled inside these spaces, with their bodies barely fitting in. Referencing the children’s game of building tents, the images allude to structures of entrapment and refuge, rather than intimacy and protection.
Joanna Piotrowska, Untitled (5 different works) 2015 - 2017, silver gelatine print. Courtesy of the Artist and Southard Reid. "The Architecture of Confinement" (June 19th-October 17th, 21st), BNKR Munich. Photography: Dominik Gigler.
Source: BNKR München
The Architecture of Confinement is the second chapter of the exhibition trilogy “The Architecture of…”, conceived for BNKR in Munich. The exhibition trilogy “The Architecture of”, curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, showcases artistic positions at the intersection of art and architecture. The Architecture of Confinement, references the use of the building as an internment camp during the denazification policy period from 1945 to 1948.
BNKR is housed in a former WWII air-raid bunker, and each of the three parts relates directly to different episodes in the evolving history of the exhibition building from 1940 until today. The first one, titled The Architecture of Deception, referenced the building’s external camouflage residential features, and was on view from March 2020 until April 2021. The trilogy will conclude with The Architecture of Transformation later this year, exploring the building’s current use as a mixed residential and exhibition space.
Grand Hôtel Barbès, 2018, short film 12 min 13 sec. With Ulysse Sa Silva, Ali Ramdani (Bboy Lilou), Junior Bosila Banya (Bboy Junion), Kévin Staincq (Bboy Lil Kev), Cindy Martinez (Bgirl Minzy), Fouzia Benouaret. Courtesy the artist and ONP / Les Films Pelléas. “The Architecture of Confinement” (June 19th-October 17th, 21st), BNKR Munich. Photography: Dominik Gigler.
Six artists relate to the The Architecture of Confinement’s concept through existing or commissioned works. A site-specific installation by Nadia Kaabi-Linke references the architecture of imprisonment. Özgür Kar’s video installation shows the effects of isolation on the individual. In her photographic works, Joanna Piotrowska examines the complex relationship between the human body and its physical environment. A sculpture by Mona Hatoum playfully tackles the interdependence of two closely connected individuals. Ramzi Ben Sliman’s film is a reflection on art as a means of transcending the confines of socio-economic boundaries. A new work by Annika Kahrs, specifically commissioned for this exhibition explores the connections between space and sound in a period of isolation.
Joanna Piotrowska, Untitled (5 different works) 2015 – 2017, silver gelatine print. Courtesy of the Artist and Southard Reid. “The Architecture of Confinement” (June 19th-October 17th, 21st), BNKR Munich. Photography: Dominik Gigler.
A comprehensive archive wall, which is presented in the center of the exhibition, complements the artistic positions. It illustrates both the historical context of the original use of the building as a bunker during the Second World War, as well as its importance in the post-war period and the conversion of the architecture into its current state. The exhibition is conceived as a dialogue between the featured artistic positions, the confined architecture of the exhibition space and the history of the building. Through creating a holistic experience, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on the effects of physical and social restrictions and their effects on the individual.
The exhibtion is on view until the 17th of October at BNKR, Munich
