The Duel (Forum for Contemporary Art)
March 12 to July 23, 2006
The Duel is a 16-part installation by Sinje Dillenkofer. The cultural-historical exhibition "Forbidden Hunting – Tracking Poachers between the Black Forest and Schönbuch" is taking place at the same time.
In this context, the artist, who lives in Berlin and Stuttgart, invites visitors to experience the cellar vault as a walk-in picture and portrait gallery. In doing so, the viewer can learn about their own ideas about animals, nature, death, and how they deal with them. Distributed along the cellar vault are seven pairs of images, each mounted back to back, seemingly floating freely. These are 7 x 200 cm photographs of brats from the Rosenstein Museum in Stuttgart: seven birds are depicted with folded wings, looking upwards, and, like the seven mammals that were taxidermied with all legs stretched out, appear as if they were about to leap towards the ceiling. The animals appear similar to humans, positioned upright. Their otherwise protected, most sensitive underside is now revealed to the viewer as oversized, appearing vulnerable and in need of protection.
At the same time, it is both a piece of skin filled with straw, a shell and, in the abstract, a painterly surface.
At the two ends of the exhibition space are two 750 cm wide photographs. These depict five naked people running out of the picture with raised arms, facing downwards from the viewer, and an interior view of a gun case.
A publication will be published for the exhibition, available in a boxed set of 18 postcards, similar to small display boards. (Out of print)
This is equipped with a leporello with texts by Arno Gruen and Susanne Jakob, art historian and curator of the art association in Neuhausen.
The publication was designed by the Stuttgart graphic designer, Philippa Walz.
The entire exhibition – all 16 sheets – are available as a box (height 80 cm) as an edition of 3 pieces.
Further information about the project “The Duel” can be found on the artist’s homepage:
or via e-mail: mail@sinje-dillenkofer.de
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arno_Gruen
http://www.bewer.de/kvn/f_kvn.html
Sinje Dillenkofer uses photography to conceptually explore our understanding of values, gender roles, nature, individuality, the collective, and how we deal with them in Western culture.
In collaboration with institutions, she realized architectural art and interactive projects. She taught at the Merz Academy Stuttgart, the FHG Pforzheim, and as a visiting professor between 2000 and 04 at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart.
