CONTACT ZONES – Murat Adash, Céline Berger, Syowia Kyambi is a collaborative exhibition project between the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics and the Museum Angewandte Kunst. The artist-in-residence programme INHABIT, during which three guest artists from different artistic disciplines engage in a dialogue and exchange with scientists from the research institute, is the starting point. The presentation of the second edition of INHABIT with Murat Adash, Céline Berger, and Syowia Kyambi showcases works the artists developed or are still developing during their residencies and in the context of the scientific research institute.

As a format without stipulations regarding content, concept, use of media, and subject matter, every residence edition is defined by the themes proposed by the guest artists. For an institute dedicated to the exploration of aesthetics, the perspective of artists who approach the institute and the areas of research with curiosity and present diverse subjects and projects is of great importance. As an expression of the different approaches to the world of science, the artworks are not least defined by encounters, dialogues, and cooperation. The title CONTACT ZONES refers to the approach to a different culture of knowledge and the challenge of forging a dialogue between the artistic and the scientific field and formulating a common language as well as connecting factors. In cultural studies, the term contact zone describes social spheres in which cultures come up against each other, collide, and struggle. In the context of the residence programme, however, it refers to the sphere of interaction between art and science.

The artworks by Murat Adash, Céline Berger, and Syowia Kyambi manifest entirely diverse associations with the title CONTACT ZONES. Whether in Murat Adash’s performative practice, which deals with bodies and their spatial situation, in Céline Berger’s experimental film that explores the aesthetics of measuring and quantifying at the interface of bodies and devices, or in Syowia Kyambi’s performative installations that recast historical (Western) narratives and intervene in spheres of colonial activities.

Curator: Eike Walkenhorst

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