The works are shown for the first time in Germany. Mukenge/Schellhammer have been collecting stories, narratives, memories and experiences for many years, which they bring together in various formats and media as fragments of a new language and new forms of myth. The visual excerpts from the artists* everyday life in Kinshasa and Europe are on the one hand permeated by the great narratives of our time, to which they often form counter-narratives on the other.
Through the collision of the artists‘ different cultural backgrounds, „visual narratives“ emerge that are based, on the one hand, on their own radically subjective experiences, observations, and investigations, and, on the other hand, on collective narratives and supra-personal stories that surround us all. The result is a collage of truth and lies, history and reality, fiction, illusion and simulation, the unconscious and the obvious, traditional and popular, personal and collective images and narratives.
The duo processes their experiences and investigations in the very different social systems between Europe and the Democratic Republic of Congo in an ongoing artistic process that includes digital and analog paintings and drawings, experimental videos and performance. By interpreting cultural shocks and historical traumas and their effects, they develop a very subjective approach to contemporary issues such as globalization, postcolonialism and interculturality.
Working between different cultural, social and economic spaces, personal perceptions are constantly challenged and individual comfort zones are regularly destroyed. An everyday experience that leads to a fragmented and multi-layered perspective in which the shreds and debris of cultural and personal collisions are constantly reflected and questioned.
The duo’s works are influenced by Congolese painting traditions such as „Peinture Populaire“, but also draw on styles from international art history such as the psychoanalytical approaches of Surrealism and Expressionism, as well as contemporary popular culture.
The Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg is one of the most important institutions for promoting the young experimental art scene in the state. It was founded in 1977 through the initiative of members of all parties represented in the state parliament. Since then, it has been able to support more than 1,600 particularly talented artists born or living in the state, as well as cultural workers. The scholarships are awarded in the fields of visual arts, music, literature, performing arts and cultural management to enable them to work professionally at the beginning of their careers. Through publications and organized events, the award winners reach a wider public through the Arts Foundation.
