Opening: Melanie Bonajo: Single Mother Songs from the End of Nature

31.05.2017

Frankfurter Kunstverein is pleased to present the first comprehensive institutional solo exhibition of Dutch artist Melanie Bonajo (b. 1978) in Germany.

Melanie Bonajo’s artistic practice is shaped by her critical stance towards the state of our world. Her works are created in the light of an explicitly critical attitude towards capitalism and an ambivalent view of the modern euphoria about progress. With a political and activist approach, Bonajo focuses on urgent and persistent social issues of our time, like the dualism of human and nature, rapidly fading resources and the ramifications of climate change. Her videos, performances, photographs and installations constitute the result of longstanding processes. By means of close observation, collecting and categorising, she investigates the existential questions of humanity. Her reflection leads to powerful aesthetic works, which enable the viewer to explore and experience the issues of our times in sensual sceneries.
The exhibition at Frankfurter Kunstverein presents three of the artist’s distinct work groups, centring around the experimental, semi-fictional documentary trilogy “Night Soil” (2014-2016). For the presentation of her works, Bonajo allows the filmic space to protrude into the reality of the exhibition space and creates colourful, spatial installations. The artist constructs psychedelic worlds, which invite the visitors to immerse into a contemplative space of experience.

The exhibition design is realised in cooperation with Théo Demans. The exhibition design for “Night Soil” is a cooperation of Théo Demans and Clemence Seilles. The exhibition is curated by Franziska Nori, director of Frankfurter Kunstverein.

Speakers: Monique Ruhe (Embassy Counsellor for Culture and Communication, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) and Franziska Nori (Director Frankfurter Kunstverein).
The artist and her team will be present.