Curator: Marius Babias

Hito Steyerl, who artistically and socially reflects our world in times of hypercapitalism, digital lifestyles, globalization, and growing political crises, is one of the most influential artists of our time. In 2009, she presented her first solo exhibition in a German institution at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.), which was followed by n.b.k.’s publication of the monograph Hito Steyerl (2010) and the collection of essays Hito Steyerl. Beyond Representation (2016). In 2019, which marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, n.b.k. is again dedicating a solo exhibition to her work, presenting the video installation This is the Future (2019) together with the largescale site-specific installation MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: BELANCIEGE. In cooperation with the artists Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze (*1983 in Kutaissi / Georgien) and Miloš Trakilović (*1989 in Tuzla / Bosnia and Herzegovina) Steyerl has developed a new lecture, in which her preoccupation with the conditions of capitalist production, consumer culture, and the mechanisms of commodification is continued. The exhibition enables visitors to experience the urgency and topicality of Steyerl’s artistic, political practice and its thematic focuses. This is the Future is complemented by the augmented reality app PowerPflanzenOS, which is provided free of charge to visitors as a download.

To use PowerPlantsOS:

PowerPlantsOS is an augmented reality tool for electronic devices.
PowerPlantsOS makes near infrared looping footnotes to the installation visible.

– The app PowerPlantsOS is available on the App Store and Google Play Store (sorry for that). Download it to your mobile device or tablet. If you are unable to download the app, please ask for assistance or use the tablets offered by n.b.k.

– PowerPlantsOS will request use of your device’s camera to provide the full augmented reality features. This app does not collect or store any of your data and it does not record any of your movements.

– Locate one of the two sigil animations raised off the gallery floor. Scan a sigil with your device to get the full picture. If you fail or hate apps or downloads, there are always LED texts or handouts. You can also peer over your neighbor’s shoulder after asking for permission and introducing yourself in a friendly and comradely way. This hack is highly recommended and might improve your life if you are lucky. So this app is 100% FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) free – except for English monolinguals, who will miss all of it, as this is a Berlin version featuring the four most spoken Berlin languages to address a local audience. Don’t whine, learn Arabic or just anything.

– Tap and hold on texts to bring them into focus for better legibility.

– If at any point, you can no longer see the augmented reality texts, follow the prompts on your device or try restarting the app. It’s also an excellent moment to throw your phone into the toilet, if you planned on doing so anyway.

*Devices must be running iOS 11 or Android 8.0 with ARCore support.

Biography

Hito Steyerl was born in Munich in 1966 and lives and works in Berlin. She studied documentary film and theory at the Academy of Visual Arts in Tokyo (1987–1990) and at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film Munich (1992–1998), and received her doctorate in philosophy at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste Wien (2003). She has been a professor at Universität der Künste Berlin since 2011. Solo exhibitions (selection): Kunstmuseum Basel (2018); The Institute for Contemporary Art, Boston (2017); Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen (2016); LUMA Foundation, Arles (2016); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2016); Bank, Shanghai (2015); Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm (2015); Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (2015); Artists Space, New York (2015); Museum of Art, Dallas (2015); Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2015); Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (2014); Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2014); Künstlerhaus Stuttgart (2014); Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City (2014); Museum of Contemporary Arts San Diego (2013); Art Institute of Chicago (2012); Overgaden Institute of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen (2013); Chisenhale Gallery, London (2010); Villa Stuck, Munich (2010); Henie Onstad Art Centre, Oslo (2010); Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (2009). Group exhibitions (selection): 58th Venice Biennale (2019); Skulptur Projekte Münster (2017); Hasselblad Center, Gothenburg (2016); 32nd São Paulo Biennale (2016); Kunsthal Aarhus, (2016); Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2016); Gwangju Biennale (2016); Whitechapel Gallery, London (2016); Kunsthalle Wien (2015; 2014); ZKM, Karlsruhe (2015); Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich (2015); 56th Venice Biennale (2015); Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2015); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2014); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2014, 2013); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2013). Steyerl also took part in Documenta 12 (2007).

Public program

Online presentation, Thursday, November 21, 2019, 7 pm

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: BELANCIEGE

Stream of the lecture by Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze, Hito Steyerl, and Miloš Trakilović

Thursday, November 28, 2019, 7 pm

Bild und Repräsentation im Werk von Hito Steyerl (Image and Representation in the Work of Hito Steyerl)

Panel discussion with Nora M. Alter (professor of Film and Media Art, Temple University, Philadelphia) and Klaus Theweleit (cultural theorist, Freiburg), moderated by Doreen Mende (curator and theorist, Harun Farocki Institute, Berlin / University of Art and Design, Geneva)

In German and English

Sunday, January 26, 2020, 8 pm

Kassem Mosse

Concert

Free admission to all events