Pauline M'barek

This is the first solo exhibition of Pauline M’barek at the Thomas Rehbein Galerie. In 2010, her works were first presented in the group exhibition Liaisons Dangereuses, featuring the ensemble "Von Falten und Schatten," which she developed in collaboration with Anna Lena Grau. M’barek was also showcased among the New Positions at Art Cologne 2012. For her solo exhibition, Pauline M’barek transforms the gallery space into a parcours of objects, videos, and projections.

Things become semiophores when they are removed from their original context of use and incorporated into a museum. These seemingly lifeless objects are classified according to Western standards of object valuation and are rewritten with a new narrative. The more an object is imbued with meaning—through measurement, evaluation, and presentation—the greater its museum value.

According to historian Krzysztof Pomian, artifacts thus become semiophores or carriers of signs that maintain communication between the invisible realm from which they originate and the visible realm where they are exposed to meaning.

They become intermediaries of the distant, the foreign, or that which lies in the past, which can be made visible through them.

The exhibition Semiophores questions an imaginary object by seeking to make visible the processes of meaning attribution to objects in the context of their institutional presentation: a boundary rope that stands ready for confrontation in the space; the trompe l'œil of an empty display case that unfolds from a specific viewpoint of light and shadow; the projection of white-gloved hands gently examining invisible artifacts; a series of menacing metal forks jutting threateningly into the space… A parcours in which the exhibition inventory develops an animistic life of its own and steps beyond its original function, while the actual object around which all works revolve remains invisible—a void.

For the Quadriennale Düsseldorf 2014, Pauline M’barek will present a multi-part spatial installation titled "Der berührte Rand," tailored to the unique architecture of KIT – Kunst im Tunnel (Düsseldorf).