Jana Kerima Stolzer & Lex Rütten – We grow, grow and grow, we‘re gonna be alright and this is our show
11. March 2023 - 30. July 2023 Dortmunder U, Level 3
This multimedia exhibition embodies a radical change of perspective, observing the world through the eyes of non-human organisms to which we usually attribute no consciousness. The artists give these beings a voice: They speak to us of the technosphere and the central role of symbiosis in evolution (Micro), of deep time, extractivism, coal mining and sorcery (Xtract), of pioneer plants, invasive species and neophytes (Pionea), of carbon dioxide, warm and cold periods, superplants and sedimentation (Azolla), of the dream of using geoengineering to save the world (Symbiotechnica), of the technically mediated revival of extinct species (Extinct), and of corals, immortality, budding, cloning and the dream of eternal life (Hydra).
The artists speculate on existing and future symbiotic relationships between microorganisms, plants, animals, bacteria, fungi and technical objects as they ponder innovative cycles and alliances in nature, all in the age of the Anthropocene.
With We grow, grow and grow, we're gonna be alright and this is our show HMKV presents the first institutional solo exhibition by artistic duo Jana Kerima Stolzer and Lex Rütten. Both live and work in Dortmund.
Curator: Inke Arns (HMKV)
Image: Keyvisual of the exhibition We grow, grow and grow, we're gonna be alright and this is our show with imagery from the work ”Micro, 2023 (Pattern) by Jana Kerima Stolzer & Lex Rütten. Design: eot Berlin.
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You will find press material on this program item in our press area.
Artists
- Jana Kerima Stolzer
- Lex Rütten
Artists
Jana Kerima Stolzer
Lex Rütten
Curator
Inke Arns
Magazine
The exhibition magazine as a free download (PDF) can be found here – the printed version is available on site at the HMKV exhibition space and per order via Verlag Kettler. Further information here!
Booklet - Artwork Descriptions (PDF)
Press Reviews
“Scene by scene, a strange musical comes into being, the exhibition develops its own soundtrack. [...] High tech and smart surfaces behind which hides a depth, since the colourful show pleads a serious matter. It‘s about nothing less than the relationship between humankind and nature.” Nordstadtblogger, 07.07.2023
“One thing is already for sure: the bacteria and ferns will probably outlive mankind.” ZDF Aspekte, 23.07.2023
“With your works, you question biosocial hierarchies and attempt to put past and future in dialogue with the present. In my choice of words, this sounds very clunky, but in your artworks it happens very playfully.” Thomas Venker interviewed Stolzer & Rütter for kaput, 07.06.2023
“What the artists managed to do here is to put the Ruhr are into a much bigger context.” Inke Arns in the Podcast Hömma KI, 9.05.2023
“If humanity is destroying their foundation of life, maybe the real stars are plants and microorganisms, that are surviving regardless. [...] [The works are] poetically playful, turning plants, microbes and super organisms into seven fictional characters.” taz, 21.04.2023
“The installations really hit a nerve on current issues; fantasy, science, criticism, narrative joy and wit melt into a very unique form of art. One leaves the exhibition not only smarter than when you entered it, but the mood is lifted as well.” WAZ, 06.04.2023
“[Stolzer and Rütten] hit a nerve: in essence, all works revolve around the topics of the future: ecology and climate change [...]You could spend days in the reading room alone, which is exceptionally well stacked with books such as Bruno Latour‘s “Face à Gaïa” “ Kulturwest Kunst Special, 29.03.2023
“Tower is coloUrful -larger than life and colorfully bright plants take the stage as superheroes in the exhibition “We grow” at the U.” Stadtanzeiger Dortmund, Cover, 18.03.2023
“The exhibition is supposed to show us as well that life will go on after we are gone. [...] I meet this character in the exhibition, go out on the street, see an orchid in the window and remember the story that the character has just told me. So in this sense it is to focus the attention, not an accusation.” Jana Kerima Stolzer on Deutschlandfunk Corso, 13.03.2023
“Human beings have inscribed themselves into nature for many centuries and the stories we tell in our work talk about this without directly calling out humans. [...] These are so-called eternal burdens that are dominant here in the Ruhr area.” Lex Rütten on Deutschlandfunk Kompressor, 10.03.2023
“The installations combine fiction and science, problem awareness and narration-rich humour into a very special art form.” - TZ Hamm, 13.03.2023
“We grow is an exhibition about the wonders of nature. But it does not show the thousandth roaring lion, but revolves around current questions. If we don't find answers, we are heading for a world without us.” - Ruhrnachrichten, 10.03.2023
“Because the dialogues of the artist duo Jana Kerima Stolzer and Lex Rütten result in works that cause a sensation. [...] Under the title “We grow [...]”, visitors can expect multimedia installations that will be quite a sensational experience.” bodo-magazine, 01.03.2023
“However, the exhibition is not a science show. Rather, it is speculative narratives that we can listen to there.“ trailer-ruhr.de - Interview with curator Inke Arns, 28.02.2023
"It will be an extraordinary experience: to approach the world from the point of view of non-human organisms. That's what Jana Kerima Stolzer and Lex Rütten are planning for their multimedia show at the Hartware MedienKunstVerein in the Dortmunder U" - kultur.west Magazin, 24.02.2023
