CONSOLATION
Tracing a Human Need
Curators: Dr. Dirk Pörschmann, Ella Ziegler
MUSEUM FOR SEPULCHRAL CULTURE - KASSEL (GER) 2023
Who among us does not know of moments in life when we wanted to be comforted?
Jean-Pierre Wils
The exhibition Consolation – Tracing A Human Need illuminates the phenomenon of consolation from various cultural, religious and artistic perspectives and reflects on how we can confront experiences of loss and the pain associated with them.
Traditionally, religions are considered a repository of consolation. Religious rituals and concepts give hope and support to both the dying and the bereaved. But people have also always sought and found comfort in literature, in the poetry of language, which can offer empathic comforting identification and connection. Likewise, this is true of music, which can transport us into healing resonances and other dimensions. Nature, encounters with animals, or mementos can also be companions through their presence in times of pain. Human togetherness, comforting conversations, closeness, and community often help to alleviate suffering.
Through contemporary artistic exhibits and cultural-historical artifacts, the exhibition provides visitors with aesthetic and sensory experiences as well as intellectual approaches to make the topic of consolation tangible in its complexity.
Presented are graphics, photographs, videos, audio and sound installations, and sculptural interventions by:
Mulugeta Ayene (ETH), Nancy Borowick (USA), Dominic Boyer (USA), Nicola Brand-Distelhoff (DEU), Bazon Brock (DEU), EMPFANGSHALLE – Corbinian Böhm / Michael Gruber (DEU), Dirk Franz (DEU), Hamish Fulton (GBR), Jiaqi Hou (CHN), Cymene Howe (USA), Wolf von Kries (DEU), Alfons Mühlenbrock – Die Grüne Manufaktur (DEU), Terhi Nieminen (FIN), Mads Nissen (DNK), Christiane Rath (DEU), Kerstin Röhn (DEU), Jérémy Lempin (FRA), Gideon Mendel (ZAF), SCHAUM (DEU), THERE THERE Company (BEL), Oliver Vogt (DEU), Stefan Weiller (DEU).
In the series of interviews produced especially for the exhibition, experts from different institutions and cultures talk about their personal experiences in the context of consolation.
