Press Release - Galerie Europa
DO IT AGAIN - Repetition, Reflection and Repulsion in Contemporary Art
12-20. 7. 2012, .HBC Berlin
Opening: 12.7.12 7pm
Taking the historical architectural structures of the .HBC as the point of departure for the exhibition, especially the mirror columns - we are pleased to present DO IT AGAIN, a show focusing on mirroring, including the literal use of mirrors and reflective materials in installation-based work, patterns and symmetry as motifs in painting, as well as the psychological and theoretical implications of repetition in performance and video.
According to Deleuze, “To repeat is to behave in a certain manner, but in relation to something unique or singular which has no equal or equivalent. And perhaps this repetition at the level of external conduct echoes, for its own part, a more secret vibration which animates it, a more profound, internal repetition within the singular.”
The artistic process of repetition shifts between the comfort of creating compartmentalised order and the horror of compulsive inescapability.
The common ground for these different modes of engagement is that they are responsive to a singular starting point, a catalyst. Any form of repetition and the process itself can be characterised as an interaction.
As stated by Deleuze, the endeavour of creating an identical reflection of a singular entity is futile, and the act of repetition is therefore inherently charged with the dissonance of difference. Similarity and repetition go hand in hand in an endeavour to grasp a meaning, but the results can lead in the opposite direction, much like the effect of repeating the same word out loud until it loses its significance.
One of the most profound phenomena of repetition on a visual level might be the 'Droste Effect' or 'mise en abyme' - the effect of an image or structure appearing within itself. Often found in nature (broccoli, feathers), and also easily created by juxtaposing mirrors, its magnetism can also function as a symbol of our fascination with infinitude. The use of repetition to create or register a deeper understanding of any subject matter takes on a spiralling shape.
In DO IT AGAIN we engage the exhibition space's mirrored columns to implement modes of presentation that include the Droste Effect, which causes the interaction between artwork and viewer to endlessly ricochet and multiply.
The show includes an extensive video art program, screening non-stop during .HBC's opening hours.
Zoë Claire Miller & Antonia Bechmann
www.galerie-europa.eu
Anne-Katrin Ahrens
Ernst Altmann
Carrick Bell
Sarah Bohn
Matthew Burbidge
Michael Conrads
Patrycja German
Hannes Gruber
Lisa Herfeldt
Frank Hülsbömer
Florian Köhler
Richard Neal
Mira O'Brien
Michael Pohl
Zachary and Joshua Sandler
Yps Roth
Malte Urbschat
Liliana Velez
Marlon Wobst