Fabian Marti: We Never Sleep

Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany

Espionage is linked to the unauthorized procurement of rare secrets or confidential information. While in the past national governments spied on individuals or states, in times of digital communication private individuals are now able to reveal hidden governmental secrets or whistleblowers can expose governments spying on their own citizens. This has created the perfect grounds for a renewed interest in the mechanisms of secrecy. The exhibition presents works from around 40 international artists, including Simon Denny, Thomas Demand, Stan Douglas, Dora García, Rodney Graham, Gabriel Lester, Jill Magid, Metahaven, Trevor Paglen, Cornelia Schleime, Noam Toran, Suzanne Treister, and Nomeda & Gediminas Urbonas. About 70 paintings, photographs, videos, sculptures, and installations address the topic from a contemporary perspective, with the works touching on aspects of espionage like surveillance, paranoia, conspiracy, threat, camouflage, cryptography, manipulation, or propaganda. On view are a multitude of artistic strategies and unexpected objects, exploring the “golden age” of espionage during the Cold War and in the context of media super-exposure.