Insane in the Membrane / Sammlung Philara
Rebekka Benzenberg
Isabella Fürnkäs
Simon Fujiwara
Vivian Greven
Jens Kothe
Oliver Laric
Hannah Levy
Anna Virnich
Raphaela Vogel
November 10 – 13 Jan, 2019
Sammlung Philara
Birkenstraße 47a
40233 Duesseldorf
Photo Credit: Paul Schöpfer, Cologne
Courtesy the artists and Philara Collection
With the temporary exhibition Insane in the Membrane, nine artists born between the beginning of the 1980s to the beginning of 1990s are exhibiting their works, forming the
first generation of so called “digital natives”.
The membrane describes a separating layer, with its etymological origin coming from the latin word membrāna.
Our skin serves the purpose of being a physical boundary separating what is inside from what is on the outside, for protection against environmental impacts, a means of representation and communication. In this function, our face is the most distinct indicator of our emotional state and representation. Human contact and communication originates in the interactions between skin, in touch.
In „Im Schwarm. Ansichten des Digitalen“, the philosopher Byung-Chul Han identifies a paradigm shift in our communication structure and in our sense of awareness, evoked by digitalisation. Resulting from this, is the flattening of substance, an increased narcissism and the dissolution of the counterpart. “The digital medium deprives communication of tactility and physicality.” How is this alleged loss of the tactile perceived by artists? How do they handle forms of sensitivity, cover and skin? These are the questions with which the exhibition will set apart.