border/less - Eine japanisch-deutsche Gruppenausstellung

In the organizer's words:

People have always been fascinated by other cultures and have set off to explore previously unknown territory and broaden their own horizons. On their return home, many travelers have brought back objects and other material as souvenirs or for research purposes.

One well-known figure in this context is the German diplomat Karl von Eisendecher (1841-1934), who collected photographs during his stay in Japan from 1875 to 1882 and later brought them back to Germany. It is remarkable that the collection does not contain any photographs of the influence of industrialization on the country. Rather, von Eisendecher focused on traditional aspects that served the prevailing cliché of Japan abroad.

Referring to Karl von Eisendecher's photo collection, the exhibition border/less deals with the different perspectives and subjective perceptions that play a decisive role in the encounter of people from different cultures. It traces the invisible borders or fluid transitions between the cliché and the objective, the artificial and nature, the past and the present, longing and reality and, last but not least, between the fine and applied arts.

Against the backdrop of a globalized information society, it explores the question of what expectations people of different origins and affiliations have of each other, in what form they encounter each other and what role their cultural identities play in this.

border/less takes place as part of the 60th anniversary of the partnership between Cologne and Kyoto and shows seven positions by contemporary artists who are closely connected to Cologne and/or Kyoto. It was curated by the Cologne-based Japanese art historian Nana Tazuke-Steiniger.

Participating artists
Antonia Gruber, Sayaka Kuramochi, Marie Ogoshi, Anne Pöhlmann, Oliver Sieber, Georgi Stanchev, Katja Stuke + Yoshinori Henguchi. In addition, several photographs from the collection of Karl von Eisendecher will be on display.

With the kind support of the Deutsch-Japanische Gesellschaft e.V. Köln
Cooperation partner: Goethe-Institut
Supported by JT International Germany GmbH

Price information:

Admission free