The exhibition title “Come and See” is not only a friendly invitation to the visitors of the Weserburg; it originally refers to the Soviet anti-war film by the director Elem Klimow from 1985. The film, which already during his youth made a lasting impression on the collector Mario von Kelterborn, presents a traumatized society confronted with the horrors of the Second World War. The artists of this exhibition react to the social conflicts of our own era in a similarly persuasive, sometimes disturbing manner.
The artists' collective Claire Fontaine, with the neon work “Sell your debt,” makes a profound commentary on the financial world, which can nowadays be understood only by a few select experts but has widespread impact on all of us. Taryn Simon focuses on international politics. In her large-format work “Avatar,” she presents a man who was digitally created with the help of photographs of various political figures such as John McCain and Fidel Castro. Questions arise with an insistent urgency with regard to power, arbitrariness and opportunism. Homo politicus becomes an enigmatic, quite dubious character.
With his multipartite video installation “The Enclave,” the Irish artist Richard Mosse offers oppressive insights into eastern Congo. In that country, rebel groups and warlords dictate people's everyday lives. Mosse uses a special infra-red film that was originally developed for the military to uncover camouflages. The green tones of the lush landscape are thereby transformed into a psychedelic red. This work, which could already be seen at the Venice Biennale, conveys a terrifying, fascinating view of a brutal conflict that receives little attention in worldwide public opinion.
Art such as is to be found in the von Kelterborn Collection, offers no cheap solutions. Instead, it uses aesthetic means to bring to light the complex contradictions, but also the freedom and potential of human coexistence.
Weserburg | Museum für moderne Kunst
Teerhof 20
28199 Bremen
Germany
tel +49-(0)421-59 83 90
www.weserburg.de/
Participating artists: Maria José Arjona, Stuart Bird, Nathalie Djurberg, Teboho Edkins, Claire Fontaine, Jochen Gerz, Gary Hill, Clemens Krauss, Thomas Locher, Bjørn Melhus, Richard Mosse, Tatsumi Orimoto, Anke Röhrscheid, Taryn Simon, Mikhael Subotzky, Mariana Vassileva, Corinne Wasmuht, Hu Weiyi, Tobias Zielony