Descripción de la Exposición
“Crying in Public” is the first solo exhibition held in a German art institution by Pedro Barateiro. In his works, which include sculptures, drawings, films, texts and performances, the Portuguese artist questions the mechanisms and structures of post-capitalist societies. In a variety of ways, he addresses the inherent alienation of society under capitalism, as well as that of the individual from himself. At a time when the world seems to be increasingly out of joint, characterised by a lack of orientation and helplessness, whereby dissatisfaction and distancing are rampant, he focuses on the question of how we can change the way we relate to one another and to the world around us. In his works, including sculptures, drawings, films, texts and performances, he engages with the state of the world, saturated with information, and the sheer complexity of dealing with this wealth of data. His works question the mechanisms and structures of post-capitalist societies, with a central focus on the relationship between language, image and technology. Barateiro uses poetry as a tool to decolonise our bodies and minds. In a variety of ways, his works address a sense of estrangement in society, as well as that of the individual. His art is characterised by a wistful longing for a perfect place where community and affection innocently confront the wholesale commodification of life. A previously given, unquestioned relationship of humankind to themselves and to their environment seems to have been disrupted, turned upside down, destroyed. Against this very background, Barateiro plays with the essential means of orientation and disorientation. His works serve as instruments of self-reassurance, allowing one to question one's own position in the world. His art makes it possible to stay in touch with one's own humanity; it offers space for vulnerability, imagination and dreams.