BERLIN.- Under the title Exhibit Model Four – plus invited guests, the British artist Jonathan Monk is continuing his exhibition series, which has been shown since 2016 in various locations in modified forms, and which he has now conceptually expanded for the KINDL – Centre for Contemporary Art.

Exhibit Model Four is an installation consisting of walls covered in photographic wallpaper throughout the exhibition space M1 in the Maschinenhaus at the KINDL. The photographs, mostly in black and white, show Monk’s works from the past twenty years in various exhibition contexts and spatial situations. By integrating these excerpts with the existing architecture of M1, the artist develops a completely new, complex spatial structure. The installation views have the appearance of compiled archival materials and are distilled into a place that demands a sharpened perception and specific orientation.

At the KINDL, Monk combines these works, depicted on lengths of photographic paper, with artworks by other artists from his personal collection installed in the exhibition space. The works he selected—for instance, a readymade by Martin Kippenberger, a signed postcard by Gilbert & George, and a photograph by Dan Graham—come from his personal collection. In interaction with the two-dimensional photo installation, Jonathan Monk thus offers a multilayered take on the conditions of exhibiting and presenting art. In the interaction between the originals and reproductions of artworks, he negotiates fundamental questions about appropriation and authorship.

The exhibition is curated by Andreas Fiedler.

Behind the Screen
Constant Dullaart, Jonas Lund, !Mediengruppe Bitnik, Gonzalo Reyes Araos, Tristan Schulze, Addie Wagenknecht, Julia Weißenberg

Technological change has made itself felt in all areas of our lives and is impacting social developments around the world. Life without the technical innovations of recent decades has become unimaginable. Although we as users of digital devices produce and consume several hundred megabytes of data every day, the digital realm remains invisible—and, for many, intangible.

The artists in the group show Behind the Screen at the exhibition space M2 in the Maschinenhaus examine what lies beyond the merely visible. With an awareness of how behaviour and thinking can be shaped by technological change, they use digital technologies and visual languages as a medium and tool of artistic processes. Beyond a mere reflection, their works make digital transformations visible in analogue form.

Guest curator: Anne Schwanz