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15/1/2015

Republic of Boxes

Uqbar - projectspace, Berlin

The exhibition Republic of Boxes brings together works of the Berlin (based) artists Fabian Bechtle and Leon Kahane, that address issues of control, flexibility and transparency in the context of current working environments. The environments, people work in today, appear as uniform sets constructed out of standaradized data and modules. The box serves a metaphor for the (mobile) working environment of the employee today, and moreover it is also a visual design element, a three-dimensional version of a composite image made up of pixels.

The artists approach these working environments from very different perspectives. Leon Kahane presents a series of objects and images. The works are based on Kahane's last two video works that were produced in Hong Kong and deal with the local working conditions. With the new works the artist aims at separating various, more universal aspects from the specific context of the metropolis. He shows objects that take up and incorporate text fragments from the videos. The text citations are based on claims of filipino domestic workers, articulated at a demonstration for better working and residence conditions, or pop songs of singers like Beyonce Knowles and Celine Dion, performed or re-enacted by just these women. In addition, Kahane shows a wall work, a minimalist arrangement of boxes, on which he has transferred icons of the tool palette of the animation program Cinema 4D and images of animated 3D office views by the company Herman Miller.

Fabian Bechtle's contribution focuses on a very specific form or physically-concrete transformation of data. The artist deals with the process and the final product of the physical destruction of so-called sensitive data. The destruction is at the end of a long confusing chain of (internal) data transmission. Bechtle documented this process at among others the company Reisswolf, one of Europe's largest suppliers of office-waste solutions, file and data destruction. Under the slogan secret.service the “office waste" is collected in safety containers under the highest safety standards, and pressed to blocks from shredded files, weighing (several) tons. The “(data) dust” that occurs during this process is condensed by the company into objects that resemble in shape to drilling cores. The sculptural form and aesthetics of these data objects is that what is of interest to the artist. In his video, he is attempting to make them readable again.

Leon Kahane (*1985, Berlin) lives and works in Berlin. Since 2010 Kahane has studied at the University of Arts in Berlin. Group exhibitions include “Desertmed”, NGBK, Berlin, 2012; “The World Is Stable Now”, Gallery Alexander Levy, Berlin, “Seen By”, Museum für Photographie, Berlin, 2013, „55. Oktober Salon“, Belgrade City Museum, Belgrade.

Fabian Bechtle (*1980, Berlin) lives and works in Berlin and Leipzig. Bechtle studied Fine Arts in Leipzig and Lyon. From 2009-2001 he worked as an assistant for the photographer and filmmaker Armin Linke. At present he teaches Media Art at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, Leipzig. His work has been shown a.o. at Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, 2012; NGBK, Berlin, 2012; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, 2013; Fabbrica del Vapore, Mailand, 2014; Museum of Yugoslav History, Belgrade, 2014.

Opening: Friday, January 16, 2015, 6 p.m.

uqbar
Schwedenstrasse 16
Berlin
Opening hours Fridays, 2.30 - 6.30 p.m. and by appointment

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