*INNEN at Künstlerhaus Bremen

Artists: Ruth Buchanan, Annika Grabold, Dominique Hurth, Franziska Nast, Josse Pyl, Charlotte Rohde

Exhibition title: *INNEN

Curated by: Nadja Quante and Pio Rahner/Spacing (formerly known as Erlkönig)

Venue: Künstlerhaus Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Date: October 15 – November 26, 2023

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and ©Künstlerhaus Bremen

Note: Exhibition’s booklet is available here

The group exhibition *INNEN[1] brings together artistic positions that take words or language as their starting point. How do language, words and letters shape our bodies and the spaces around us? How can language and dialogue be depicted – other than through writing? In the struggle for words, in the clearing of throats, in the joining of sounds, word-images and image-words emerge. The presented works examine and negotiate – from different angles and partly from a feminist position – the performative aspects of language and written signs in relation to identities, institutions and spaces. The exhibition takes the upcoming gender-appropriate change of name of Künstlerhaus Bremen in spring 2024 as an opportunity to reflect on the role and impact of words, language, and typography. The works brought together in the exhibition
draw a horizon of possibility of language and conversation as well as the utopian potential that lies between *INNEN and outside, between idea and mediating word or sign.

[1] The asterisk or gender star in *INNEN is a nonstandard typographic style used in German language to generate a gender-neutral version of a noun. It is formed by placing an asterisk after the word stem and appending the feminine plural suffix “-innen”. In German language the standard plural is formed with the masculine noun even when it denominates male and female persons.

*INNEN, 2023, exhibition view, Künstlerhaus Bremen, Photo: Fred Dott

Charlotte Rohde, You Loved An Image, 2023, Installation view, *INNEN, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2023, Photo: Fred Dott

Charlotte Rohde, You Loved An Image (Detail), 2023, Installation view, *INNEN, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2023, Photo: Fred Dott

Josse Pyl, Eating Grammar IV, 2021/2023, Installation view, *INNEN, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2023, Courtesy Josse Pyl and Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam, Photo: Fred Dott

Josse Pyl, Eating Grammar IV, (Detail), 2021/2023, Installation view, *INNEN, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2023, Courtesy Josse Pyl and Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam, Photo: Fred Dott

Josse Pyl, Inner World in Outer World, 2020- 2021, Installation view, *INNEN, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2023, Courtesy Josse Pyl and Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam, Photo: Fred Dott

Josse Pyl, Inner World in Outer World, 2020- 2021, video excerpt

Josse Pyl, Inner World in Outer World (still), 2020-2021, Single channel video installation 5 min, Courtesy Josse Pyl und Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam

*INNEN, 2023, exhibition view, Künstlerhaus Bremen, Photo: Fred Dott

Franziska Nast, My favourite Ladies, 2018/2022, Installation view, *INNEN, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2023, Photo: Fred Dott

Franziska Nast, My favourite Ladies (Detail), 2018/2022, Installation view, *INNEN, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2023, Photo: Fred Dott

Annika Grabold, Ich seh’ kein Außen, 2022, Installation view, *INNEN, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2023, Photo: Fred Dott

Dominique Hurth, soundless voices, bitten tongues, haptic hands, 2019/2023, Installation view, *INNEN, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2023, Photo: Fred Dott

Dominique Hurth, soundless voices, bitten tongues, haptic hands (Detail), 2019/2023, Installation view, *INNEN, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2023, Photo: Fred Dott

*INNEN, 2023, exhibition view, Künstlerhaus Bremen, Photo: Fred Dott

Dominique Hurth, soundless voices, bitten tongues, haptic hands (Detail), 2019/2023, Installation view, *INNEN, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2023, Photo: Fred Dott

Ruth Buchanan, Sleepwalkers, 2011 Installation view, *INNEN, Künstlerhaus Bremen, 2023, Photo: Fred Dott

Ruth Buchanan, Sleepwalkers (Still), 2011