Verborgene Geschichten / Hidden Narratives

The panel discussion Verborgene Geschichten / Hidden Narratives in the Vorhoelzer Forum of the Technical University of Munich takes place as part of the BNKR exhibition trilogy THE ARCHITECTURE OF. Each of the three exhibitions in the BNKR art space refers to different chapters in the eventful history of the exhibition building, which was originally built as an air raid shelter in World War II, then used as an internment camp for the Allies in the post-war years and was transformed finally in a residential area Office building with the integrated art space BNKR. The artistic positions shown in the exhibitions at the interface between art and architecture are each related to the building and invite the visitor to reflect on "hidden stories". The artists Nadia Kaabi-Linke and The Swan Collective (Felix Kraus) will report directly on the conception of their site-specific installations, while Madeleine Freund gives insights into the exciting history of the air raid shelter in Munich. The panel discussion will be moderated by one of the two curators of the exhibition trilogy, Till Fellrath.

In Modulor I  Nadia Kaabi-Linke (*1978 in Tunis, lives and works in Berlin und Kyiv) traces the dimensions of prison cells that are used for solitary confinement in various institutions worldwide. Upon entering the exhibition space visitors immediately become part of the installation, to find themselves, without being conscious of it, within the imaginary cells. The title of the work is a direct reference to Le Corbusier’s Modulor and his idea of the rationalization of a given space and its optimal form. The overlapping lines, which depict the dimensions of the cells, create an abstract and geometric spatial drawing. Both the narrow architecture of the exhibition space and the blocked view to the outside further point to the living conditions of the prisoners. By referencing the locations of the respective prisons, the installation offers an overview of the different detainment conditions and poignantly visualizes the architecture of the confinement.

The Virtual Reality films of the Berlin-based The Swan Collective, which was initiated by Felix Kraus who studied at the art academy of Munich, have been featured in a wide array of film festivals such as LOOP (Barcelona), Toronto New Wave Film Festival and in 2020 at the Sundance Film Festival (Utah). Their VR and mixed media installations have been exhibited in various art spaces such as KINDL Centre for Contemporary Art (Berlin), Kunstmuseum (Stuttgart) and The Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (São Paolo). For BNKR they will present a mixed media installation that combines elements of the physical reality of the gallery space with the virtual world of the film, to take the viewer on a journey into their inner self.

Madeleine Freund is an art historian, independent curator and editor. She is a current PhD candidate at the University of Art and Design Linz, focusing on body politics in performance and media art from the 1960s to present, and is Researcher at the VALIE EXPORT Center Linz, Austria. For the exhibition trilogy "The Architecture of" at BNKR, Munich (2020–2021) she works as Research and Curatorial Assistant together with Art Reoriented. She contributes essays and reviews for publications and art magazines such as Parnass and gallerytalk.net.

Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath are Founders and Directors of Art Reoriented in Munich and New York. They are Curators of the Lyon Biennale in 2022, and Affiliate Curators at Gropius Bau in Berlin. Bardaouil and Fellrath founded Art Reoriented in 2009 as a multidisciplinary curatorial platform to rethink traditional models of cultural engagement. Central to their work is inclusivity in artistic and institutional practices and a revisionist approach to art history. The diversity in their cultural and academic backgrounds enriches their inherently collaborative model. Bardaouil, born in Lebanon, holds an MFA in Advanced Theater Practice and a PhD in Art History. Fellrath, born in Germany, holds two Master’s degrees in Economics and Political Science respectively. Bardaouil and Fellrath’s curatorial practice is equally rooted in global contemporary art, as well as in the field of modernist studies.