No One Survives a Real Conversation

About

The collaborative project of artists Kirstin Burckhardt and Nicole Wendel, No one survives a real conversation shows the artists collaborative works for the first time. The genesis of the exhibited drawings and video is rooted in the friendship of the two artists. During their artistic process, collaborative thinking, communication and collective action are fundamental and continue in the exhibition through the active involvement of the visitors: the exhibition concept also includes a participatory space that is available for performative encounters between the two artists and guests. 

The title of the project is inspired by a quote from David Whyte, who describes the importance of friendship as a constant and consistent power in life. At the same time, he emphasizes the necessity of other people ( a counterpart to ourselves) to enter in a dialogue, and that courage and perseverance are needed to build and maintain a conversation on a small scale and a friendship on a large scale.

The visual language of the joint works is nourished by the qualities of the friendship of the two artists, such as trust, care and humor, as well as body perception as an artistic interface. During their working sessions, the artists use digital media, body movements and communication methods such as "deep listening", to enter a conscious way of going-into-relationship. In those encounters where body gestures convey ambivalent emotional states and the narrow space of balancing power relations, as expressed by "care & control" or "radical tenderness" (Seyda Kurt), the artistic material of Burckhardt & Wendel emerges.

Trusting in the potential of their friendship as a stable, supportive space on the one hand and open to transformational processes on the other, Burckhardt and Wendel continue their collaboration without fear of losing individual space. Rather, the artists encourage us to discover a new form of togetherness and to question characteristics of neoliberal times, such as individualism, competitiveness and competitive strategies. It is the moment when friendship is no longer just an intimate space, but also becomes a breeding ground for negotiation processes, thus revealing its enormous impact and scope. In this way, the emotional strength that comes from friendship is not just a question of individual resilience and health, but a social one.

Programme

Performative encounters via time slots:

Sat 27 Aug at 2 pm
Thu 15 Sep at 5 pm
Sat 17 Sep at 2 pm & 4 pm

duration approx. 45min, registration is requested via realconversationberlin@gmail.com