Mind the Gap [2022]: - Dezernat 16, Gruppenausstellung

The exhibition, organized by QuArtEer in collaboration with guest artists Tim Kocher and Ace Bonkowski, created a space for dialogue on the theme of mental health through various art forms.

Over two weekends, we aimed to create an open space for encounters in the foyer of Dezernat 16, addressing topics such as depression, ADHD, trauma, suicidality as well as resilience and coping—issues often met with misunderstanding.

Art can become a form of communication without adopting the judgmental societal gaze. Instead, it opens up dialogues and provides a language for what is difficult to put into words. The exhibition featured works in painting, installation, graphic design, and drawings, along with events like artist talks, exhibition tours, and a workshop titled Interconnected – When I Met Myself in You. This interactive multimedia exhibition was supported by the Kompetenznetzwerk Plurales Heidelberg.

Fault Lines – Series of Oil Paintings (2022) Seismogram 1-4

Fault Lines is a series of four oil paintings (110x100 cm) that explores the theme of intergenerational trauma. Like old fault lines beneath the surface, past events—whether our own or those of others—quietly shape our internal landscapes. Intergenerational trauma often takes unconscious forms, manifesting in patterns or behaviors within family dynamics. These small movements on the surface of the paintings speak of an emptiness, lack, rage, or grief that cannot be put into words.

In these works, the viewer is cast as a "reader of tracks" (Fährtenleser), navigating a world shaped not only by their own experiences but also by the experiences of others.

Two of the paintings began during my performance HUMAN in 2022, which was a response to the war and the loss of humanity within it. In this performance, I cut myself free from beneath a cloth fabric that was fixed to a canvas. Using my body, I distributed paint and water, creating traces and marks that echoed the erasure of humanity and the continuation of trauma in recent times. Watch here.