ARTISTS
Mischa Leinkauf: Fiktion einer Nicht-Einreise
In his works, Mischa Leinkauf deals with the limitations of spaces through boundaries, borders, rules, architectures and barriers. Through interventions in quasi-natural systems of order, he provokes situations that create temporary confusion and open up spaces for a possible recoding.
For the exhibition Fiktion einer Nicht-Einreise (Fiction of a Non-Entry) Mischa Leinkauf deals with borders as a structuring element of present times. Despite the general hope that German reunification would also dismantle borders worldwide, the construction of national barriers has been experiencing an unanticipated renaissance for two decades. Whereas in 1989 there were 16 border fortifications in the world comparable to the Berlin Wall, today more than 70 barriers separate states and cities. Where borders are secured with military force and privileges of national identity are organised hierarchically, they reinforce the feeling of social separation and exclusion. Wars, struggles and conflicts are legitimised through national isolation. Walls, fences, passports and security agencies cement the spatial order and the power relations associated with it.
A radical renunciation of this structure, however, does not transcend the mere dismantling of its material artefacts: the totality of borders has been anchored as a paradigm in the mind, although countless areas of human relations have long since been unaffected by territorial limitations.
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In his works, Mischa Leinkauf deals with the limitations of spaces through boundaries, borders, rules, architectures and barriers. Through interventions in quasi-natural systems of order, he provokes situations that create temporary confusion and open up spaces for a possible recoding.
For the exhibition Fiktion einer Nicht-Einreise (Fiction of a Non-Entry) Mischa Leinkauf deals with borders as a structuring element of present times. Despite the general hope that German reunification would also dismantle borders worldwide, the construction of national barriers has been experiencing an unanticipated renaissance for two decades. Whereas in 1989 there were 16 border fortifications in the world comparable to the Berlin Wall, today more than 70 barriers separate states and cities. Where borders are secured with military force and privileges of national identity are organised hierarchically, they reinforce the feeling of social separation and exclusion. Wars, struggles and conflicts are legitimised through national isolation. Walls, fences, passports and security agencies cement the spatial order and the power relations associated with it.
A radical renunciation of this structure, however, does not transcend the mere dismantling of its material artefacts: the totality of borders has been anchored as a paradigm in the mind, although countless areas of human relations have long since been unaffected by territorial limitations.
Artists on show
