bis hierher und nicht weiter . this far and no further

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As a prelude to the Moabit art festival Ortstermin 20, the exhibition bis hierher und nicht weiter . this far and no further calls for a critical engagement with developments in contemporary society, politics, culture, and ecology. The exhibition features work by artists and performers who explore physical and geopolitical borders, investigate the dynamics of social phenomena, and challenge aesthetic boundaries. Furthermore, the Covid-19 lockdown and temporary forced abandonment of usual models of consumption and productivity have amplified awareness of interdependencies, capitalist production chains, and social injustice.
During this time of uncertainty, insurgency, and new alliances, the potential of creative unrest is more relevant than ever. How do artists encounter and engage with individual and societal restrictions? How do they respond to scaremongering and trivialisation, racist and nationalist exclusionary rhetoric, all of which were already on the rise before Corona and the resulting mood of “general uncertainty”?
The sound of breaking glass becomes the soundtrack of Hanau, a wire fence extends across a room with minimalist elegance. Absurdist stagings of artistic assimilation meet textile collages with provocative iconographic references to recent German history. Baroque ornaments and the piercing presence of a heavy metal performance celebrate sensuality and insubordination, and a closed installation offers itself for active use by the visitors, allowing them to open and share a social and communicative space. The artistic contributions in the gallery and in the urban space explore boundaries in physical, social, and political settings, in order to reveal and deconstruct the complexity and interconnectedness of socio-politically relevant processes and their resulting ambivalences. The title bis hierher und nicht weiter . this far and no further is both an appeal to rethink, as well as a warning not to overstep certain lines that endanger societal peace, ecological balance, and peaceful, tolerant coexistence.
Bis hierher und nicht weiter . this far and no further also sees itself as an encouragement to enable the direct physical encounter with art also with Covid-19 once again, and to play with the current restrictions and distancing rules in a critical way: performances and events in the gallery and in public spaces invite a physical presence and social togetherness, with participation and communication as deliberate prerequisites for reflection, exchange, and the joy of experiencing and creating.

Curated by Ulrike Riebel, Karen Scheper and Veronika Witte

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