Exhibition »Mutations // Mutationen«

The exhibition »Mutations« is the culmination of the nine-month interdisciplinary residency program of the same name at Akademie Schloss Solitude. The show presents the collective knowledge that the seven international artists and creative thinkers have been developing, both locally and digitally, in conjunction with this Thematic Focus since October 2020.

Singular within the landscape of residency programs is the structure of »Mutations,« which promotes the collective and collaborative work, research, and experimentation of a certain theme and as such simultaneously questions the distribution of the generated knowledge. Conceived well before the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic, the »Mutations« group seeks to reconsider the notion of mutations and its multifaceted impact on social, political, and scientific structures. The exhibition is a direct response not only to these global developments, but also to the specific discussion around the role of art and its cultural importance. While approaching the subject of mutations from multiple vantage points, each of the seven fellows relates to its transformative potential at interconnected levels and scales, from the molecular level of the individual to the macro level of society.

The exhibition consists of seven individual positions and two collaborations that all engage with the concept of mutations as processes with unpredictable outcomes: transformation, loss of control, and irreversibility, but also diversity, metamorphosis, and hybridity. It is this indeterminacy and associative richness that make mutations uncanny and attractive at the same time. In both content and form, this exhibition pursues the »mutational« in heterogeneous contexts – biological, political, technological – while also emphasizing aspects of the unprecedented historic juncture that has brought this term to the fore. The exhibition places importance on the varying perspectives and approaches within the group, which take the form of installative, site-specific, and immersive works that span the mediums of multimedia, installation, sound, and video. The works themselves are interventions, spread throughout the Akademie Schloss Solitude area.

The thematic focus on »Mutations« also inspired a Web Residency call curated by members of the »Mutations« fellows, expanding the theme beyond the Akademie Schloss Solitude.

Accompanying the exhibition, is a special third edition of the Solitude Journal. Acting as editors, the »Mutation« thematic residency fellows offered a place and space for different approaches to the theme of mutations. Each invited artists, collectives, researchers, and creative thinkers to contribute texts and artworks that expand and deepen the thoughts that have been developing throughout the program. The exhibition and journal join the lecture series (which ran from March 22 – May 10, 2021) and the online platform wwww.mutations.akademie-solitude.de as output of the thematic residency program.

»Mutations« is a cooperation between Akademie Schloss Solitude and the KfW Stiftung, Frankfurt, an independent non-profit foundation active in the fields of Responsible Entrepreneurship, Social Commitment, Environment, and Climate as well as Arts & Culture. The Arts & Culture program focuses on intercultural dialogue and artistic production in the global context.

»Mutations« is comprised of the following fellows: Sabina Hyoju Ahn: Media and Sound Artist (South Korea) | Angela Anderson: Video Artist and Researcher (USA/Germany) | Grayson Earle: New Media Artist (USA/Germany) | Ana María Gómez López: Artist, Writer, and Researcher (Colombia/USA/The Netherlands) | Clara Jo: Video Artist (Germany) | Maxwell Mutanda: Multidisciplinary Researcher, Visual Artist, and Designer (Zimbabwe) | Joana Quiroga: Visual Artist and Philosopher (Brazil).

On view: June 18 – August 1, 2021