Colectivo
The postulate “the best of all possible worlds” by German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz elicited hefty discussions and controversy among the philosophers of his own time. This seemingly absurd statement stands as a point of departure for the artistic inquiries by this provocative group from Germany. In the exhibition in the cave of the Palácio Pombal they present works in photography and video that critically deal with an ideal or idolized world. The “Idyll” today is not an anachronism or an artefact from a time long gone; it is first and foremost a critical aspect of the present, a Utopia that serves as a façade for our every desire. The urban environment of today, however, is all the time more charged with negative associations and feelings. The masses no longer stand for
protection, but on the contrary, as a threat. Anonymity hardly resembles freedom, but solitude and distrust. The growing speed of our society is evidenced by agitation and stress. The modern is perceived as noise, pollution and, for many people, simply as danger. The image of nature is closely linked to the definition of the Idyll, but today does not offer any romantic escape. The fragmentation of space leads to the search for a new safety. On these grounds, even in the urban environment, new niches for our desires are possible to be created or found. Looking to the contemporary imagination in natural ideals or urban niches, the often-nostalgic remembrances of the past are visibly clear. The “best of all possible worlds” of today seems to emerge as a grey area between illusion and broken Idyll.
BETTINA LOCKEMANN
Unbestimmtes terrain, 2009
(Território indefinido / Undefined territory)
CLAUDIA FISCHER
Crisalida, 2008-2011
ELLEN BORNKESSEL
The Happy Ones, 2007
JANA SEEHUSEN
Endlich diese wirklichkeit, #1: der tanz, 2006
(Finalmente esta realidade / Finally this reality)
JENS LUSTRAETEN
In Sicherheit, 2010
(Em segurança / Safe)
RUTH HOMMELSHEIM
Urban atlas, 2005
SABINE SCHRUNDER
Das versprechen, 2007
(A promessa / The promise)
SUSANNE HUTH
Parkour / Boulevard Périphérique, 2010
ULRIKE LUDWIG
Marmeladenkochmaschine, 2009
Apfelsortieranlage, 2009
UTA NEUMANN
Zwischen der stadt, 2006/2008
(Entre a Cidade/ Between the City)
WERNER HUTHMACHER
Scape, 2008