Kunsthaus Hamburg

The two Hamburg artists Jakob Spengemann and Akinori Tao convert apparent voids into explicit statements. In their exhibition While We’re Gone, conceived especially for the Kunsthaus, aspects of place and time play a vital role. Visitors enter a site that has evidently been abandoned in the process of being remodelled. It is only a moment later that they notice the presence of sculptures and objets trouvés arranged into subtle compositions: window sills, a first aid kit or fire extinguishers function as displays, unfinished walls and cardboard boxes are converted into resonating bodies and some works themselves have assumed the form of building materials and music technology.

The interventions thus draw attention to the peripheries of the space, to its flaws and shortcomings. They orchestrate the exhibition space itself as a “work in progress”. A steady, gentle rustling and chirping can be heard in various places, interrupted by a melodic sound. This overall installation refers to the transience of the staged space and enquires into the temporal potential of architecture. In an atmospheric play with ambiguities, the exhibition hall serves as a link between the visible and the invisible as well as between production and presentation.

The project addresses the uncertain future and ongoing loss of useable space for many art and culture professionals in Hamburg. Thus, it also reflects on the current state of limbo of the Kunsthaus. Originally located in its own building at Ferdinandstor, the institution had to make way for the new building of the Gallery of Contemporary Art, part of the Hamburger Kunsthalle, in 1993. The Kunsthaus relocated to the former market hall, where it is based up to the present. Long-pending renovation work on the building and the expansion of the neighbouring concert hall, however, have necessitated a move in the near future.

Curated by Anna Nowak