FeEd Me NoT ≠ FeEd Me NoT: Jana Heinemann, Natisa Exocé Kasongo, Maurice Mbikayi, Patrick Tagoe-Turkson, Selva, Martin Wöllenstein

9 February - 6 April 2024 Berlin

Video: Berk Kutlucan

 

‚Feed me not‘ is an exhibition, that brings together a diverse group of artists and designers questioning the relationship to materials, information and emotions that we are confronted with beyond our personal choice. By processing these both subjectively and critically, they offer us alternative ways of approaching our lives and experiences. In order to do so, the selected artists conscientiously transform various discarded materials, such as e-waste, bulky waste or collected flip-flops into sublime works of art. Through their narratives, they reflect on how the decisions of today’s society reflect on our futures. Wether in performance, photography or abstract tapestries, the show serves as a visual reflection on the overproduction of plastic, global supply chains and planetary responsibility.

 

At the same time the exhibition also holds space for the documentary of a communitarian projects that fashion designer Heinemann has recently set up in Ghana with Kwabena Obiri Yeboah and Martin Wöllenstein: The Nnoboa Space is an innovative program for young art and design professionals from the Sekondi–Takoradi Area and offers comprehensive training led by local and international fashion design and film/photography experts.

 

Artists

 

Jana Heinemann (born 1993, Germany). The designer and founder of the label IMPARI, creates her prints by using recycled materials, designed in her atelier located in Berlin Friedrichshain. Her mission is to build a vibrant community advocating for a social, sustainable future. IMPARI is driven by her belief that collaboration with like-minded companies and creatives is key to revolutionizing the fashion industry.

 

Maurice Mbikayi (born 1974, Democratic Republic of the Congo). Mbiyaki studied Graphic Design at the ‘Academie des Beaux Arts‘ in Kinshasa and then completed his Master of Fine Art degree (with distinction) in 2015 in Cape Town where he currently lives and works. Through his work, Mbikayi interrogates the proliferation of technological commerce in our geopolitical system. He collects remnants of this rapidly developing technology and incorporates them in his collages, sculptures and photographs that link the materials back to their political contexts. FeEd Me NoT ≠ FeEd Me NoT

 

SELVA (born 1987, Argentina). As an interdisciplinary artist based in Berlin, Selva seamlessly navigates the realms of Art, Fashion, Installation, and Performance with a unique white-centric approach. Renowned for founding the Brutralist Functional Art Movement [BFAM], Selva provocatively reimagines the fashion and art industries in the dystopian ambiances, prompting reflection on our values and the worth of creativity in a post-global, neo-capitalist framework. In an exploration of new aesthetic criteria, technological advancements, and diverse sensibilities, Selva's work pushes visual boundaries within both art and fashion.

 

Patrick Tagoe-Turkson (born 1978, Ghana) approaches art through sustainability and the act of restoring. By collecting and re-assembling flip-flops and discarded plastic on the beaches of Ghana, his vibrant tapestries not just reflect an urgent planetarian problem, but become a medium to reclaim, transform, and repair. Patrick received a Master of Fine Art Degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and technology in Kumasi, Ghana. Apart from his practice, Patrick is also teaches painting at the Takoradi Technical University in Ghana where his artistic vision is becoming an educational tool to reflect on the consumption of resources as well.

 

Martin Wöllenstein (born 1991, Germany). Artist and mediator Martin Wöllenstein is part of the NNOBOA Space project. Being responsible for the media department, he directed the video documentary of the recent activities taking place in Ghana. After studying arts in in Halle, Istanbul, Havana, and Basel, Martin creates collective narrative spaces where established notions and power dynamics are negotiated. His research, activations, and installations have been internationally exhibited, including at the Sinop Biennale, the Havana Biennale, and KASKO Basel.