The exhibition Pier Paolo Pasolini. Porcili at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) explores the “corpo” (body) of Pasolini through a rich array of original materials, including photographs, films, newspapers, books, and film costumes. It traces his work and ideas, highlighting the visionary life and career of the director, poet, and thinker. Known for his radical views and rebellion against social conventions, Pasolini often sparked controversy in Italian society from the 1950s to the 1970s. His affiliation with the Communist Party and his open homosexuality made him a provocative figure. He faced public ridicule and legal troubles, and was murdered in 1975 under unclear circumstances. The exhibition at n.b.k. chronicles these events, shedding light on the harsh persecution Pasolini endured. It documents the systematic discrimination faced by a dissident who celebrated the body as a site of self-determination amidst a backdrop of courtrooms, street attacks, censorship, and ridicule.

The title of the exhibition at n.b.k. refers to Pasolini‘s 1969 film Porcile (The Pigsty), in which the director created a drastic allegory of societal decay. To the public, the judiciary, politicians on both the right and left, the Catholic Church, and the Italian bourgeoisie, Pasolini was a reprehensible figure, a cause for scandal, a “pig”. He openly inhabited and frequented places and environments they scorned as “pigsties” (porcili). His works, publications, and his entire life articulated love and admiration for the Italian underclass. He expressed himself blasphemously, defended sexual pleasure, and rebelled against all restrictions imposed on the body. In Porcile (The Pigsty), Pasolini used a radical subversion of values, symbolizing both resistance against a hypocritical society tainted by its fascist past and a reflection of the degradation Pasolini himself faced.

Filmprogram – Pier Paolo Pasolini Retrospective

September 19 – November 10, 2024

Babylon Kino, Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 30, 10178 Berlin

With introductions and commentaries by Thomas Macho, Hito Steyerl, and Klaus Theweleit

Parallel to the exhibition, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) presents a series of films by Pier Paolo Pasolini at Babylon cinema. This extensive retrospective highlights a selection of his most celebrated films, offering insights into the central themes and the political and aesthetic principles underpinning his work.

Find more information as well as all screening dates here

Art Education

Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 7 pm

“I Must Go. Tomorrow”

Screening, performance and talk with Ming Wong

In English

Publication

On the occasion of the exhibition, a bilingual publication (DE/EN) will be published in the series "n.b.k. Exhibitions" published by Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, Cologne.