Artists: Julien Prévieux, Mia Goyette, Nona Inescu, Rachel de Joode, Sandra Vaka Olsen
Exhibition title: Gestures of Tomorrow
Curated by: Judith Grobe
Venue: Kunstverein Nürnberg, Nürnberg, Germany
Date: September 10 – November 20, 2016
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and Kunstverein Nürnberg
The exhibition Gestures of Tomorrow confronts social and technological inscriptions on the human body. Closing in on the interrelationship between everyday activities and digital developments, it examines their impact on our intuitive, gestural vocabulary. How do new technologies affect us and what gestures do they bring about?
In recent decades, our hands have become increasingly important as a means of communication in areas that have since continuously shifted. As machines replace manual labour, the hand’s area of activity has gained new meaning through the automation and standardization of work processes. At the same time, digital media have led to new movement patterns that significantly affect our body and our living environment. For example, the introduction of touch screens has replaced the pressing of buttons and keys with movements such as “swiping”, while the operation of computers will likely be possible with nearly no physical touch at all, thanks to ultra-sensitive radar technology.
The artists approach this theme from a variety of perspectives. While some have conducted scientific research on the future of our movements, others have meticulously explored the physical footprints and traces of human behaviours. A comprehensive study on gestures, for example, includes an analysis of movements arising from the operation of technical devices (Julien Prévieux). The artists also reflect on how the human body might optimize itself, in light of current developments in the area of “human enhancement” and pharmaceutical microbiology (Sandra Vaka Olsen, Rachel de Joode). Given its role in operating a wide variety of devices, the hand is scrutinized in its function as a tool and instrument, but also as a metaphor of the individual and the tactile (Mia Goyette, Nona Inescu). This touches on issues such as the dual function of human gestures between revealing and concealing, and conscious and unconscious action.
The works presented in the exhibition are distinguished by their particular affinity to performative strategies and an eagerness for experimentation during the production process. With their individual observations of reality, the artists engage with the current discourse surrounding the interaction between the human organism, the environment and visionary technologies.
Rachel de Joode, Sculpted Human Skin In Rock III, 2015, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist; Neumeister Bar-Am, Berlin
Julien Prévieux, What Shall We Do Next? (Séquence #2), 2014, HD-Video 16:47 min. Film Still. Courtesy the artist; Galerie Jousse Entreprise, Paris
Julien Prévieux, What Shall We Do Next? (Séquence #2), 2014, HD-Video 16:47 min. Film Still. Courtesy the artist; Galerie Jousse Entreprise, Paris
Julien Prévieux, What Shall We Do Next? (Séquence #2), 2014, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist; Galerie Jousse Entreprise, Paris
Julien Prévieux, What Shall We Do Next? (Séquence #2), 2014, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist; Galerie Jousse Entreprise, Paris
Sandra Vaka Olsen, Days / UV wall, 2016, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist
Sandra Vaka Olsen, Days, 2016, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist
Sandra Vaka Olsen, UV wall, 2016 (Detail), Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist
Mia Goyette, The prospect of an end, 2016, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist
Mia Goyette, The prospect of an end [*DVGW-GW541/DV-7301AT2558 **…], 2016, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist
Mia Goyette, The prospect of an end [*TP3161/W.1.4404/TP316/W1.440…], 2016 (Detail), 2016, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist
Mia Goyette, The prospect of an end, 2016, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist
Mia Goyette, The prospect of an end [*DVGW-GW541/DV-7301AT2558 **…], 2016 (Detail), Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist
Sandra Vaka Olsen, Sunscreenpill, 2014, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist
Nona Inescu, Sleight-of-hand, 2015 / Moon Moon Moon, 2015, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist; SABOT, Cluj-Napoca
Nona Inescu, Sleight-of-hand, 2015 / Moon Moon Moon, 2015 (Detail), Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist; SABOT, Cluj-Napoca
Nona Inescu, Dactyloscopy, 2015, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist; SABOT, Cluj-Napoca
Nona Inescu, Palmistry, 2015, Installation view, Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft, 2016. Courtesy the artist; SABOT, Cluj-Napoca