GOOD! SPACE

"Community presupposes loss"

This is the headline of the Esslinger Zeitung's report on the opening of the phenomenal show "Good! Space". The impressive presentation is an exhibition essay that challenges our sensory experience in an intense and playful way, focussing on the development of communities from the perspective of contemporary art. Social diversity is realised through exchange, the cohesion of communities is the cause and result of supra-individual values and concepts of identity as well as concrete norms and rules. However, this unifying element is also always inscribed with exclusion and marginalisation, which is why the question of what defines the "we" is full of explosive - and political - potential. The works of the exhibiting artists navigate along architectures of power - the consequences of colonialism are addressed and its devastating consequences recorded -, they bring the continuum of time and space into play - where technology and spirituality intersect -, question ideas - such as that our lives are free, self-determined and full of opportunities for self-realisation -, call for unconditional respect for the right of animals to a self-determined life - the human-animal relationship and plant communities come into view here thematically -, witness paradoxical human relationships - for example in the case of housing concepts in the context of architectural brutalism -, show us that films not only provide strong communal experiences in the cinema auditorium; The isolated community of a small submarine crew also comes into view. The exhibition essay sees itself as a plea for a togetherness guided by curiosity, respect and appreciation that constantly seeks to define needs and negotiate differences. In 2016, "Good Space" dealt with the handling of unused spaces and wasteland; in 2019, questions of how to revitalise these spaces and the functioning of communities will be examined, as the political mood has changed considerably, and not just as a result of the migration debate.

Artists:
Martha Atienza, Fatma Bucak, Melanie Gilligan, Mikhail Karikis, Mary Reid Kelley & Patrick Kelley, Frédéric Moser & Philippe Schwinger, Gabriela Oberkofler, Katrin Plavcak, Tabita Rezaire, Julika Rudelius, Lin May Saeed, Rob Voerman, Alberto Zamora Ruiz

Exhibition:
Villa Merkel Galleries of the City of Esslingen, Merkelpark, halls of the Royal Württemberg Railway Workshops; 2/6-1/9/2019