Ifa-Galerie

... only the jungle knows

21 Jul - 10 Sep 2017

... only the jungle knows
Photo: Demian Bern
... ONLY THE JUNGLE KNOWS
21 July – 10 September 2017

Zoological and botanic gardens are exhibitions of animals, plants, and environments, and also models for the appropriation of reality. Their functions range from scientific collection to imperial presentation to justifying colonial intervention.

On this basis, the exhibition looks at how nature is presented as a model that negotiates the relationship between mankind and animals and plants, between wilderness and civilisation, and between exotic spaces and domestic or homely places. Whether in Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book (1894) and its memorable Disney film version (1967), or the media’s appropriation of the 'childhood' of Berlin's celebrity polar bear Knut (2006) – animals are motifs of an 'other' that we should both protect and research. In event culture, these 'animal babies' are often just an excuse for arousing human emotions. The focus is then on your own feelings.

Students at the State Academy of the Fine Arts Stuttgart have explored these issues, developing answers in drawings, photos, films, and performances and installations. Every summer, ifa Gallery Stuttgart will share its space with students at art academies and universities, in a Summer Studio that presents and discusses the artistic products of shared processes of research and exploration.

Participating artists:

Fine Arts: Ezgi Böttger, Lena Heinz, Jana Khatik, Hyunjeong Ko, Seulmina Lee, Jaewon Park
Intermedia Arts: Sarah Bellon, Anna Bone, Rui Dias, Leon Dürnay, Elisabeth Festl, Dirk Flach, Heidi Grandy, Sonja Guckenberger, Carolin Heel, Anne-Paula Heymann, Sabine Kampa, Theresa Klumpp, Konrad Lucas, Josepha Lutz, Anne-Olga Maier, Annarita Matuschka, Ramona Mohr, Lisa Schlenker, Miriam Wieser