NOWS: Zero Waste at MdbK

Soft Opening: 24/06/2020, 18–21 h

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Waste is everywhere: in the Great Pacific garbage patch, as fine particular matter in the air, or as microplastics in the food chain. The group exhibition Zero Waste showcases international positions in contemporary art that point out the urgency to save resources, consume less, and live more sustainably. In diverse installations, videos, sculptural works, and photographs the artists investigate the global consequences of plastic packaging, tire abrasion, toxic chemicals, and the overproduction of consumer goods. Zero Waste will be realized by the German Environment Agency in cooperation with the MdbK and curated by Hannah Beck-Mannagetta and Lena Fließbach.

Every day shreds from the horticultural greenhouses in southern Spain, also known as “El Mar de Plástico”, drift into the sea – Raul Walch uses these remnants as material for his expansive kinetic objects. For their video work the artist duo Irwan Ahmett & Tita Salina transferred a small fish from a polluted water in Jakarta to a crystal-clear river. Erik Sturm scrapes fine dust from window sills along heavily trafficked streets for producing paint, whereas Swaantje Güntzel’s photographs and objects illustrate the effects microplastics have in cosmetics and on marine creatures. In his laboratory Dani Ploeger experiments with manufacturers’ intentional obsolescence of electronic devices, and Eliana Heredia’s installation works with disposable products and cleaning agents.

The exhibition takes a critical look at the current condition of our planet but also aims to imagine possible solutions, encourage alternative scopes of action, and propose visions for the future. While questioning the lifestyle of the international jet set as well as the lavish use of materials in the art world, the project follows self-imposed climate-friendly rules in an attempt to make its own carbon footprint transparent and to compensate it.

Exhibiting artists: Irwan Ahmett & Tita Salina, Michel de Broin, Nadine Fecht, Vibha Galhotra, Tue Greenfort, Andreas Greiner, Swaantje Güntzel, Eliana Heredia, Bianca Kennedy & The Swan Collective, Wolf von Kries, Christoph Medicus, Klara Meinhardt, Alexander Oelofse, Kadija de Paula & Chico Togni, Dani Ploeger, Mika Rottenberg, Erik Sturm, Raul Walch