VON DER UNMÖGLICHKEIT EINER SCHOENEN KUECHE , KUNSTVEREIN HARBURGER BAHNHOF, HAMBURG, 2023

Frieder Haller’s first institutional solo exhibition is simultaneously the premiere of 24/7 ist kein Leben, the final part of the film trilogy Good Times, Bad Timing, which will be shown in its entirety for the first time. 24/7 ist kein Leben, as well as previous parts Architecture (2019) and SCUM SCAM SCUM (2021), are comedydrama chamber plays that deconstruct normative relationship structures and dynamics. Haller’s works are balancing acts between the comic, the grotesque, and the tragic. His films show the schemas and logics within social microcosms through which existing power relations are cemented. Linear narrative forms are repeatedly sabotaged by surreal moments that introduce elements of humor and instability into the films. Haller’s characters oscillate between pitiable and despicable. They speak in song lyrics, film quotes, and quotes from Haller’s own surroundings, which evoke both familiarity and alienation. They are imbued with boredom, emotional coldness, decadence, and a desire for distinction, yet they strive for love and intimacy. The failure of these contradictory strivings is inevitable for Haller’s characters. Like Schopenhauer’s porcupines, the closer they get to each other, the more they hurt each other. Unlike in the philosopher’s dilemma, they never reach the moment of balance. Community dissolves into egoism and individualistic strivings, and solidarity disintegrates into singularities. Without cynicism, Haller’s observations are guided by great curiosity about all the contradictions of social behavior. The exhibition is conceived as a scenic installation, complemented by collaborations with Simon Mielke and Alison Yip. Large backdrop walls determine the structure of the space, dividing it into areas and visual axes that invite and deny views. Adapted film props, sculptures and display elements repeatedly open up references to domestic environments and transfer the habitus of the chamber play to the exhibition space. The exhibition is kindly supported by Hamburgische Kulturstiftung and K.S. Fischer-Stiftung. The program of the Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof is made possible by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg & Liebelt-Stiftung, Hamburg.

Text by Tobias Peper

↳ films shown in this exhibition: '24/7 ist kein Leben', 'Scum Scam Scum', 'Architecture'