Disruptions – Divergent Minds

Frauke Boggasch, Kirstin Burckhardt, Alba D’Urbano, Despina Flessa,

Ralf Lüddemann / Lukas Marxt / Michael Petri, Paula Muhr, Jakub Šimčik, Annika Stoll

 

curated by Alba D’Urbano and Jakub Šimčik

Join us for a live stream hosted by The Body Map Institute on October 10 at 1:00 PM. This interdisciplinary discussion features psychologists Kirstin Burckhardt, Idil Kavukcu and Nele Riedel as they explore the video work “How Does It Feel?”.

The conversation will delve into questions about body connection and disconnection, such as: Are we connected to our bodies through consciousness? Does disconnection render the body foreign? What creates the sensation that a body is uniquely “my” own? The conversation will take place on Instagram Live @kirstinburckhardt. The conversation will also be available later alongside the video in the exhibition. 

„I can’t function“ is frequently heard in peer support groups and psychotherapeutic sessions, reflecting the intense personal struggle of the exhausted self working to heal and redefine itself.

This deeply private journey often remains outside the public eye, leading to a loss of potential societal critique regarding mental illness and neurodivergence. What does functioning in a meritocratic society truly entail, and what costs are we expected to bear? 

 

The exhibition “Disruptions – Divergent Minds” confronts these questions through the lens of personal experience. The showcased artworks serve as entry points for embodied reflections on societal norms, experienced intimately by individuals. These artistic pieces, rooted in biographical and documentary approaches, challenge conventional ideas of health and self-fulfillment from the perspective of the Divergent.  

 

The narrative is at the forefront of the exhibited works. They raise awareness for underrepresented modes of perception and thought. The form of these stories is itself fragile and experimental. It takes up the empathetic perspective of deviance and the break with expectations – especially those placed on one’s own identity. The figures carrying these narratives are forced into a never-ending cycle of self-definition. The Self, as portrayed in the exhibition, extends beyond physical boundaries to interact with surrounding streets, people, and other entities. 

 

This extension and branching out are key components of the artistic practices presented. The exhibition explores the disruption of norms and expectations, adopting the perspective of the “Not-Functioning” and the “Sick.” As Vilém Flusser suggests, strangeness is a prerequisite for radical insight. 

 

Additionally, the exhibition serves as a foundation for the educational project “Vertigo,” developed in collaboration with students from Felix-Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Gymnasium. Led by psychotherapist Nicole Florschütz, artist and art teacher Nicolas Rossi, and Jakub Šimčik, “Vertigo” aims to engage students in reflecting on the exhibition’s themes. This workshop is supported by the friends’ association of the Gymnasium. 

 

 

*This exhibition has limited accessibility for individuals using wheelchairs*