ODYSSEE - Thorsten Boehm and Jens Kappenberg - 22. January - 12. March 2023

Every human being is an island. He is wandering around the world. This is a human subject that is as ancient as it is current. Without making direct reference to Homer's 24 cantos about Odysseus' wanderings, we pick up the thread and not only reflect on our time, but also lead beyond it.

The subject of our artistic work is the human being with all its facets of the question of existence, the mystery and the abysses of human existence. We are inspired by myths and fairy tales, ideological or pseudo-religious ideas from different cultures and epochs of human history. Works that refer to Homer, such as James Joyce's "Ulysses", Arthur C. Clarke's and Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", Dan Simmons' "Olympos" or Madeline Miller's "Circe" also provided creative impetus.

Just as Odysseus is taken from island to island, we meet other people in everyday life, initially strangers. Like Odysseus, we do not know whether monsters, temptations or treasure await us, but danger is always present.

The generally gloomy, even desperate mood of Homer's poetry with its storms, raging waters, whirlpools, battles, human losses, outrages and death can also be found in our work. We are not on a sunny cruise surrounded by the charms of the Mediterranean, but by the atrocities, catastrophes and monstrosities of the contemporary world.

Thorsten Boehm and Jens Kappenberg