8.02. until 7.04.2024
Vernissage 7.02.2024, 6.30 pm
Stadthausgalerie, Marktstr. 12, 87527 Sonthofen
When a person leaves for good, she or he leaves many things behind. What happens to them? Are they kept? Are they given away? Sold? Thrown away? And what about those that can’t simply be disposed of, such as a room – his or her room. We had a room like that in my childhood home. A shrine of memories.
These rooms here describe the spatial dimension of remembering: old photographs are brought to life – Deep Paula and Post Mortem – an artificial, uncanny liveliness. Would you be willing to bring a photo of a deceased loved one to life – with the help of artificial intelligence?
What meaning does an old photo album have Below the Surface when there is no one left to tell the stories of these people? Can our imagination save them?
And then there are countless Letters from Utopia. Who still writes letters today? Here they are metaphorical bridges to a place of longing that only exists in our memories – a very personal Utopia. Science has taught us that memory is flawed. We leave traces, collect documents and photographs, and archive them. I see this as an existential doubt: who am I if I can’t trust memory? If I leave no traces, did I ever exist?
“In the exhibition “A room to yourself”, ten artists are showing works that deal with Virginia Woolf’s thoughts on feminism and gender differentiation in the broadest sense. The title refers to Woolf’s 1929 essay, which has been available as a German translation since 1978. The themes it contains, such as autonomy, self-development and creative freedom through various artistic disciplines, are still relevant today. A space, be it physical or metaphorical, functions as a home for the innermost thoughts and dreams. It offers the necessary freedom to unfold the inner monologue, to spin ideas and to connect them with creative impulses. The participating artists are members of GEDOKmünchen, an interdisciplinary association of women artists that has been active nationwide since 1926.”
Artists: Silke Bachmann, Renate Gehrcke, Erika Kassnel-Henneberg, Katharina Lehmann, Ina Loitzl, Herta Miessner, Christiane Pott, Martina Salzberg, Julia Smirnova, Olga Wiedenhöft
Curated by Uta Römer
Music: Anna Heller
