Lena Grossmann at Kunstverein Freiburg

Artist: Lena Grossmann

Exhibition title: MIMETIC BODIES

Curated by: Heinrich Dietz

Venue: Kunstverein Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Date: February 16 – April 21, 2024

Photography: Marc Doradzillo / all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Kunstverein Freiburg

How do body movements and gestures function as codes we use as a matter of course? How do they structure body images and interpersonal relationships, as well as collective behaviour and social spaces? What role do processes of imitation, empathy and assimilation, or repetition and appropriation, play in this context? What bodily reactions does being imitated produce?

In her performance and exhibition MIMETIC BODIES, visual artist and choreographer Lena Grossmann explores collective, everyday body language. Her interest lies in physical gestures, their interpretations and how they relate to one another.

Within one-hour performances, a group of seven visitors together with five performers experience scenes that outline and comment on mimetic movement strategies. In the interplay between watching and being watched the focus lies on group formation, moments of isolation and togetherness, empathy and symbiotic behaviour. The performance moves between abstraction and concrete embodiment, blurring the boundaries between artificially created and spontaneously arising situations. Visitors are invited to experience the performance from a participatory perspective.

A floor graphic designed as a movement notation, which extends over the entire space of the Kunstverein Freiburg, is the basis for the performances and is accessible as an interactive field. The graphic suggests the developed dance scenes and thus becomes a score for the various movement units of the performers. At the same time, it allows visitors to navigate through the space during the exhibition following the performances. Symbols, conceptual fields, paths and suggestions of actions invite visitors to explore different approaches to physical imitation and to question behavioural patterns within the exhibition space.

Lena Grossmann’s performance and exhibition MIMETIC BODIES was first shown in 2022 in Lothringer 13 Halle in Munich. Kunstverein Freiburg presents a further-developed version, adapted to the Kunstverein’s exhibition hall.

Lena Grossmann (b. 1991) lives and works in Munich. Solo exhibitions (s), group exhibitions (g) and performances (p) (selection): MIMETIC BODIES, Lothringer 13 Halle, Munich, DE, 2022 (s/p); MIMETIC BODIES IN PUBLIC SPACE, in the context of: What is the City?, Münchner Kammerspiele, Munich, DE, 2022 (p); code and shadow; reverse TRIO; Kunstraum München, Munich DE, 2020 (s/p); X ways through organised space, Bundespreis für Kunststudierende, Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, DE, 2019, (g/p); code and shadow reverse, in the context of: Olaf Nicolai, there is no place before arrival, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, AT, 2018 (p); Strecke (1-7) aus Armkreis (0) für vier Personen, Berlinerstraße, Kassel, DE, 2018 (p).

Lena Grossmann, MIMETIC BODIES, Exhibition Views, Kunstverein Freiburg, 2024, © Lena Grossmann / VG Bild-Kunst, Photos: Marc Doradzillo