BERLIN.- With the exhibition Caught in a Landslide, n.b.k. and the KINDL present recent works by international artists based in Berlin who received the Berlin Senate’s 2024 visual arts work stipend. Spanning two venues, the exhibition showcases current developments in Berlin’s art scene and explores contemporary artistic themes through video, sound, painting, sculpture, installation, and performance. Central to many of the works is an engagement with states of ambivalence and uncertainty – both societal and personal. The artists explore internal processes, emotional landscapes, and imaginations sparked by radical change – be it migration, the collapse of a political system, or the onset of puberty.

Several artists render these unconscious and hidden processes perceptible through speculative visualizations or by activating alternative sensory modalities, such as touch and hearing. Fragile moments of contact and transference emerge in the representation and staging of bodies and body parts. Incorporating themes of individual and collective memory or repression, several works investigate and reinterpret places of transit and encounter, as well as historical architecture in Berlin. With sensitivity to the details and nuances of societal processes, the artists create new forms of expression and visual languages that emphasize ambiguity and transformation.

On the Exhibition at n.b.k.

The installation by Stephanie Comilang (*1980 in Toronto) revolves around the diasporic community of Thai women in Berlin, who formed a meeting point around Preussenpark. Whether built structures, com- munal rituals, or forms of transcendental communication, Comilang’s installation presents “home” as a fluid, nomadic space shaped by memory, interdependence, and belonging.

Özlem Altın (*1977 in Goch / Germany) presents a new constellation of works at n.b.k. that brings together central themes and motifs of her artistic practice. In her large-scale collages, which she creates by means of photomontage and the application of layers of paint, Altın explores the relationship between photography, archives, and the body.

The installation developed by Jasmin Werner (*1987 in Troisdorf / Germany) for the exhibition at n.b.k. draws on the phenomenon of “click farms,”: an illegal work facility where employees operate numerous cell phones simultaneously to generate revenue through clicks on advertisements or to contribute to the distribution of certain content. At the same time, the work highlights the importance of digital infrastructures in maintaining family bonds within the context of global labor migration, reflecting on how communities stay connected despite physical distance.

In her works, Babette Semmer (*1989 in London) explores traditional art historical themes – such as interiors, portraits, and genre scenes – while recontextualizing and interrogating them through personal and pop-cultural references. Her paintings presented at n.b.k. function as reenactments, evoking the intense emotionality, uncertainty, and heightened drama of adolescent experiences.

In her video installation at n.b.k., Kristina Paustian (*1985 in Omsk / Russia) follows a group of children and adults during a summer day on the Romanian Black Sea coast. The work reflects the filmmaker’s long- standing engagement with social realities, captured through a restrained visual language that fosters a nuanced dialogue about the essence of life.

The performative practice of Alex Baczyński-Jenkins (*1987 in London) is dedicated to the precise investigation of affect, embodiment, and relationality. Through minimal gestures, pared-down choreographies, and simple stage designs, the performances reveal nuances of interdependence and desire, making the political potential of lust, ecstasy, and collectivity palpable.

On the Title

The title Caught in a Landslide reflects the exploration of psychological, physical, and social thresholds that unify the works in the exhibition. Borrowed from a line in the song Bohemian Rhapsody (1975) by the British rock band Queen, it also alludes to the landslide-like restructuring of Berlin’s cultural landscape and the uncertainty facing many artists as they look to the future.