BerlinWoe From Wit | Adam Broomberg & Olivier Chanarin

‚WOE FROM WIT‘ – Adam Broomberg & Olivier Chanarin

OPENING: January 31st 2019, 12am-6pm;
OPENING RECEPTION: January 31st 2019, 6pm-9pm;
EXHIBITION: January 31st- February 3rd 2019, 12am-8pm

Synthesis Gallery is pleased to premiere the first VR work by Adam Broomberg and Olivier Chanarin in collaboration with Pablo Dornhege, Guy de Lancey and Shervin Saremi. ‚WOE FROM WIT‘ is curated by George Vitale and is part of Vorspiel / transmediale & CTM 2019.

On December 19th, 2017 at the Contemporary Art Museum in Ankara, Turkey, Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador was assassinated while delivering the opening speech of the photographic exhibition ‚Russia through Turks‘ eyes‘. Karlov was fatally shot from behind by Mevlüt Altıntaş, one of his personal body-guards who then shouted ‘Do not forget Aleppo, do not forget Syria’. One of the several pictures taken during the assassination by AP photographer, Burhan Ozbilici was later awarded with the ‘2017 World Press Photo’ prize.

Broomberg & Chanarin use VR to perform an autopsy of this image introducing the many pop cultural and art historical references that are visible in its decoding. From Freddie Mercury and John Travolta to Chris Burden and Robert Longo, they create a mysterious shifting narrative that asks important questions about our consumption and complicity around images of violent events both inside and outside the white cube.

ADAM BROOMBERG (b. 1970, Johannesburg, ZA) and OLIVIER CHANARIN (b. 1971, London, UK) are artists living and working between London and Berlin. They are professors of photography at the Hochschule für bildende Künste (HFBK) in Hamburg and teach on the MA Photography & Society programme at The Royal Academy of Art (KABK), The Hague which they co-designed. Together they have had numerous solo exhibitions most recently at The Centre Georges Pompidou (2018) and the Hasselblad Center (2017). Their participation in international group shows include the Yokohama Trienniale (2017), Documenta, Kassel (2017), The British Art Show 8 (2015-2017), Conflict, Time, Photography at Tate Modern (2015); Shanghai Biennale (2014); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2014); Tate Britain (2014), and the Gwanju Biennale (2012).

SYNTHESIS GALLERY is an immersive blend of technology and art displayed under one roof, showcasing cutting-edge experiences by new wave artists and visionaries through virtual reality. We are a space to experience and experiment with the state between dream and reality. Pieces are displayed through different media. Tangible and traditional artforms intermingle with Oculus and Hive headsets. Submerge into the unchartered. Focus on the abstract. Reevaluate reality.