Rebekka Benzenberg
too much future
too much future
21.03.2021 -
08.05.2021
Galerie Anton Janizewski
Goethestrasse
69,
10625 Berlin
Galerie Anton Janizewski is pleased to present
‘TOO MUCH FUTURE’, the first solo exhibition of Rebekka
Benzenberg.
The artist
studied
under Ellen
Gallagher,
Rita
McBride and
Franka
Hörnschemey-
er at
Kunstakademie
Düsseldorf, where
she
graduated as
a
Meisterschülerin in
2020.
A massive array of fur coats stretches across
the wall’s surface. On the hairy mass, the phrase ‘TOO
MUCH FUTURE’ is inscribed by bleaching
the letters into the material with blond hair dye. Imposing,
almost
iconic, the installation elevates itself
over the space.
Set in contrast to this, the quote ‘never
look back’ adorns another wall. This time by means of a shad-
ow cast by strands of hair which form
the words, reminiscent of the curved handwriting of a young
girl.
Weary of
thinking
about the
future
while
simultaneously
refusing to
look back
at the
past? This
is one
of the many ostensible contradictions
the visitor will encounter in this exhibition. Rebekka Benzenberg aims to capture the present, which
becomes a relic of the past in the archiving process. The
objects
cast in epoxy resin thus seem
like historical artefacts.
The same applies to the fur, which is both
controversial for ethical reasons and antiquated as a garment. Despite its precarious
manufacturing conditions, fur remains associated with prestige and
prosperity. Detached from its elitist
context, the artist works on the material by means of a radical
decomposition and besmeared inscription
– gestures of rebellion. Through this act of appropriation,
the inscribed layers of meaning are
recoded, but never completely overwritten.
Rebekka Benzenberg
wrests the
materials
from their
exclusive
context
precisely
in order
to
criticize
it. As
symbols of power structures, far-reaching mechanisms of oppression
are inscribed on the objects used.
Fur, blond synthetic hair, bleaching and shaving hair represent
(western) ideas and practices of beauty,
which go
hand-in-hand with
a certain image
of women
within a
capitalist system.
By restaging these elements, Rebekka Benzenberg
opens up the critical subtext of her work. The
fine strands of hair are illuminated by
warm light, creating a soft and playful shadow writing – an
attractive aesthetic. The radicality,
however, is revealed at second glance, as the arrangement sits
on
sharp-edged
pigeon
spikes.
These
violent
defence
strategies
and
exclusionary
mechanisms
are
continuously addressed by the artist.
In doing
so she is aware of her
own privileges within this power structure.
This reflection and
self-confession are equally expected from the viewers. In this sense, the brutality and ambivalence of the works provoke a position, a stance, an opinion. And what could be more relevant in these times?
Pia Bendfeld, 2021
self-confession are equally expected from the viewers. In this sense, the brutality and ambivalence of the works provoke a position, a stance, an opinion. And what could be more relevant in these times?
Pia Bendfeld, 2021