Bang You´re dead

Wer bis zum 1. Mai es noch schafft, nach Amsterdam zu gelangen könnte sich diese bestimmt interessante Ausstellung anschauen: BANG YOU´RE DEAD zeigt Arbeiten von Jennifer Skupin zum Thema Krieg.
Maxalot (Boudisque)
Haringpakkerssteeg 10-18, Amsterdam

Pressetext:
‚Bang, you‚´re dead‚´ is an exhibition by Jennifer Skupin. Over several installations, she explores war and why we choose to indulge in it.

The pieces are playful but their intent is serious: a plea for peace. Prime among them is a pillow fight on a huge scale, an experiment in helping visitors vent their frustrations in a safe manner. The pillows are shaped like throwing stars and are made from old army blankets.

Other pieces show a similar interest with the intersection between our childish and more violent tendencies. War toys in particular recur over and over, perhaps raising certain questions in viewers‚´ minds. For instance, do the toys we give our kids teach them to fight? Equally disturbing: if war really is hell, why exactly do we participate in it time and again?

An awareness of the wider world and its problems can be traced in Skupin‚´s work prior to this. For instance, she‚´s produced eco-centred product design for the experimental brand ‚Äòdo,‚´ memorial candles for endangered species and designer polar bear-themed t-shirts. She also knitted pullovers for penguins and found a way to turn a book back into a tree. In the web art project www.wewatchatreegrow.com, she draws our awareness to the simply beauty of plant-life sprouting in real time.

Jennifer has been making conceptual pieces for many years now. She was born in 1979 and studied in Münster, Germany. An Art Director and Designer for renowned Dutch creative agency, KesselsKramer, she lives in Amsterdam. For KK, recent projects include an exhibition at the Venice Biennale as well as commercial jobs for Experimenta Design and The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel. She designed several books and made short films for the experimental series "Kijkers". Skupin has also taught at international colleges.

Manifesto
'Bang, you're dead' is an exhibition concerned with humanity's childish tendency toward war. It attempts to find ways to deal with conflict through raising awareness.

It's launched with a pillowfight, one peaceful means of demonstrating conflict resolution.
Other pieces include a massive dove (symbolizing peace and its fragility), super-size replicas of weapons, and an attempt to soften the H-bomb by applying baby pictures.

In general, the exhibition wonders whether we've become desensitized to war.

Do we need to experience pain and destruction ourselves to learn?

Each piece raises a different aspect of this theme.

For instance, the eponymous "Bang, you're dead" enquires as to whether it's necessary to see people being shot in front of our eyes before we'll believe in the deadly harm of weapons.

Another piece, "Toy," asks if our response to conflict is habituated by our upbringing.

While the work seeks to raise specific questions, it's up to the visitor to supply their own answers.