Haunch of Venison gallery in Berlin this 2010
From the 10th of September until the 13th of November the Haunch of Venison gallery in Berlin will be hosting a very special exhibition displaying the works of none other than the pioneering Japanese avant –garde artist, musician and film maker, Yoko Ono.
Yoko Ono began her work with conceptualism and in instruction-based art in the 1950s, and in the 1960`s she published a book called Grapefruit comprising works that incorporate these methods. The current exhibition entitled ´Das Gift`, a play on the words in English, a present, and German, poison, is a radical new installation from this pioneering artist consisting of sculptural, sound, film, and instruction-based participatory elements, which have been conceived especially for this exhibition and which comprise a combination of all that she has previously worked on. Conceptualism is the underlying force of the exhibition, and through characteristically varied means, Ono addresses violence, healing, transformation, love and questions the dichotomy of the personal and the global.
Amongst many other of her achievements, she is renowned for her philanthropic contributions to the peace and AIDs outreach programs, thus it won’t come as a surprise to you that the artist’s aim is to force viewers to confront violence without losing hope. The centre piece of the installation is quite simply called ´the hole` which is a fragile but brutal sculpture comprising an oversized bullet hole in a window which Yoko Ono herself claims to represent “the many holes in many, many windows in our world”, in addition to being a tribute to her late husband, none other the joint founder of the Beatles, John Lennon who was murdered. Visitors have the opportunity to experience the perspective of both the aggressor and the victim by going to the other side of the glass. Furthermore, spectators are invited by Yoko to bring something with them to the exhibition that is an example of their own experience with violence so that she can thus hang it on the wall of the exhibition with the view that if we share these experiences and not repress them, we can create a more peaceful world. On the other hand, in the upper floor of the exhibition visitors may do nothing but smile, which will be included in a streaming video.
If you are in Berlin this autumn then this is definitely not an event to miss, as not only is this an installation from an artist renowned for her groundbreaking work in avant-garde art, as well as for her influence in the 1970s new wave genre, this is an opportunity to actively participate in what will be an interesting and insightful exhibition that will allow you to contemplate not only violence, but also love and healing.
