Art Satelite 11 - Islands of the Absurd

Video artists Susann Maria Hempel and Stefan Jeep present their works at the ARTos Foundation and the Goethe-Institut Nicosia, Cyprus. For this exhibition they developed new works each which are displayed together with already existing art works.

At the ARTos Foundation Susann Maria Hempel shows her most recent film while Stefan Jeep installs a site specific intervention. Both works have been directly influenced by their experiences in Cyprus during a stay in June 2014. Having found many absurd aspects of the island that not only match with an absurd general touch in their art works and art practice but also with the Bremen background they are coming from, a dominant influence of their perception of Cyprus has been absurdity which in many ways is a focus of their new works.

For the Goethe-Institut the artists and curator Ingmar Lähnemann chose four works that seem to deal explicitly with the strange situation of the building being located in the buffer zone, although all four works have been developed before the artists came to Cyprus. Two films by Susann Maria Hempel take place in settings of deterioration and decay and create an emotional ambience of displacement, vanitas and loss. Stefan Jeep reflects on militarian structures, sensations and operations via objects that viewers can use and via a video.

The Absurd as it was perceived to be a paradigm of Cyprus – and as it could be named a paradigm of Bremen, too – runs through all exhibited art works and gives the disparate media art projects of both artists a common ground that much resembles the experiences
they gained in Cyprus together.

The opening of the exhibition will be on Thursday, 9th October 2014 at 8:00 pm at ARTos Foundation in the presence of the artists.

ARTos Foundation, Nicosia
64, Ay. Omoloyites Ave, Nicosia
Tel.: 22 445 455
www.artosfoundation.org

Goethe-Institut Nicosia
21, Markos Drakos Avenue CY 1102 Nicosia
Tel: 22674608
www.goethe.de/cyprus

Organized by Ursula van den Busch, Kunst Satellit Projektbüro, Künstlerhaus Bremen
Curated by Ingmar Lähnemann

Opening Hours:
ARTos Foundation:
9 – 23 October 2014
Monday – Friday 3.p.m – 7.p.m

Goethe-Institute gallery:
10 – 23 October 2014
Monday – Friday 12.a.m – 6.p.m