The Supreme Architect & The Raft of the Medusa

With Spatial Installations by Anna Borgman and Morten Stræde

Opening: Friday, October 28, 2011, 7:30 PM Exhibition Duration: October 29 to December 4, 2011
Closing: Sunday, December 4, 2011, 7:30 PM with Artist Talk

kunstraum t27, the exhibition space of Kunstverein Neukölln e.V., presents the exhibition The Supreme Architect & The Raft of the Medusa by Danish artists Anna Borgman and Morten Stræde. Two expansive installations addressing the theme of rationalism, specifically designed for kunstraum t27, explore the complex relationship between rational understanding and the actions that stem from it. The exhibition concept is inspired by the ideas of the "super-rationalists" Maximilian Robespierre and Robert McNamara. Humans are capable of remarkable rationality; however, when it comes to human behavior, particularly in interpersonal relationships, rational theories often fall short and prove difficult to implement in a humane way.

Morten Stræde's installation "The Raft of the Medusa" revolves around objects and concepts that may seem rational but are, in the realm of rationality, elusive. His dominant work consists of various life-sized objects made from different materials, all blackened with patina, along with scrolling text bands. The individual components appear to drift apart like the wreckage of the namesake warship. The sinking of the Medusa in 1816, which traumatized the public of the time and was the subject of Théodore Géricault's famous painting, serves for Morten Stræde as a metaphor for the failure of rationality in the 20th century. "Rationality will not save us," a resigned statement by Robert McNamara that the artist references, expresses the inadequacy of a worldview based solely on reason.

Grounded firmly, his installation must be traversed, making it less about rational understanding and more about physical experience.

Anna Borgman drew inspiration for her work "The Supreme Architect" from the deistic worldview. The term in the title originates from the Enlightenment and refers to a Christian belief system that emerged in 17th-century England. Following this, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz also referred to God as the watchmaker. Deism thus represents the idea that God created the world like a perfect clockwork and then completely withdrew. Humanity's history unfolds according to a divine plan, into which God no longer intervenes.

For her installation, Anna Borgman employs six monumental cylinders hanging from the ceiling, which slowly rotate around their own axes at different intervals. Covered in plush, these rollers deny any notion of precision and calculability, absurdly undermining the expectation of a functioning divine plan for the world.