Artists: The Kalpana (Goutam Ghosh, Susanne M. Winterling, Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay)
Exhibition title: In desert times
Curated by: Heinrich Dietz, Antonia Lotz
Venue: Kunstverein Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
Date: May 30 – July 12, 2020
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and Kunstverein Freiburg
Note: Press release is available here
Against the backdrop of climate change and increasingly expansive desertification, The Kalpana collective examines the desert as a site of future visions and science fiction imaginaries. In the Kunstverein Freiburg The Kalpana constructs the map of a desert planet as a large-scale installation. Scenes that imagine survival strategies on desert planets are no longer purely science fiction; whilst earth turns to dust, some governments and corporations dream of colonising Mars. The Kalpana’s interdisciplinary research thus begins with a simple question: why does the imagination turn to another desert planet as a site of escape, when we are hurtling towards the desert of our own? The collective encourages us to stretch our imaginations and think in a transformative mode, beyond doomsday scenarios, visualising futures worth living. Kunstverein Freiburg is presenting the first institutional exhibition of The Kalpana consisting of artists Goutam Ghosh and Susanne M. Winterling, and science fictionist Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay. The exhibition is curated by Heinrich Dietz and Antonia Lotz.
Susanne M. Winterling, saltline, eastwind on the desert, 2019, Courtesy The Kalpana
Susanne M. Winterling / The Kalpana, the shape of the tor-toise / embankment; Goutam Ghosh / The Kalpana, Seven plates, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
The Kalpana, In desert times, Installation view, Kunstverein Freiburg, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Susanne M. Winterling / The Kalpana, the shape of the tor-toise / embankment; Goutam Ghosh / The Kalpana, Seven plates, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Susanne M. Winterling / The Kalpana, the shape of the tor-toise / embankment; Goutam Ghosh / The Kalpana, Seven plates, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Goutam Ghosh / The Kalpana, Seven plates, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Goutam Ghosh / The Kalpana, Seven plates, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Susanne M. Winterling / The Kalpana, the shape of the tor-toise / embankment, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Susanne M. Winterling / The Kalpana, the shape of the tor-toise / embankment, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Susanne M. Winterling / The Kalpana, the shape of the tor-toise / embankment, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Susanne M. Winterling / The Kalpana, the shape of the tor-toise / embankment, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Susanne M. Winterling / The Kalpana, the shape of the tor-toise / embankment, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Susanne M. Winterling / The Kalpana, the shape of the tor-toise / embankment, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Susanne M. Winterling / The Kalpana, Shape shifting dog, 2019, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Goutam Ghosh / The Kalpana, Majāzi, Alumunium fog, Silver ring, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Goutam Ghosh / The Kalpana, Grand day, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
CCCFr, Augmented Reality Sandbox, 2020, placed at the dis-posal and installed from Chaos Computer Club Freiburg, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
The Kalpana, In desert times, Installation view, Kunstverein Freiburg, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Susanne M. Winterling / The Kalpana, plants re alchemists, 2020, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
The Kalpana, In desert times, Installation view, Kunstverein Freiburg, Photo: Marc Doradzillo
Susanne M. Winterling, shape shifting dog, 2019, CGI, 4:12 min., Courtesy the artist
Susanne M. Winterling, Camelnose, 2020, CGI, 2:32 min., Courtesy the artist