solo exhibition by Cornelia Herfurtner; in curatorial collaboration with Katharina Koch & Sylvia Sadzinski; with a sound installation by Betül Merve Tekoğlu; inclusive art education with Katrin Dinges; events with Elke Steven, Katharina Gamm, Annalisa Cananzi, Cora Mohr, Lee Stevens, Suna Qu and Amina Été

The exhibition Von Luftmatratzen, Stroh und anderen Waffen [Of air mattresses, straw and other weapons] presents new works from Cornelia Herfurtner’s cycle of works Was ist eine Waffe? [What is a weapon?] (since 2020). The large-format wooden reliefs, reminiscent of protective shields, show still lifes of objects that were negotiated in the Federal Republic of Germany as so-called “passive weapons” and, due to the spatial installation of the reliefs, oscillate between image and sculpture.

The starting point of the exhibition project is the restriction of the freedom of assembly through the introduction of the so-called “passive armament” in Germany. Paragraph 17a of the Assembly Act (VersG), introduced in 1985, makes it possible to criminalize protective clothing and everyday objects, which in civilian life serve to preserve physical integrity, as ‘passive weapons’ or ‘protective weapons’, when they are worn or carried at political open-air gatherings. Since 1985, court cases have tried items such as bicycle helmets, gloves, swimming goggles, baseball caps, clear plastic sheeting, and air mattresses as protective weapons. An attempt by the police to criminalize protesters for carrying straw at protests was rejected by courts in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Herfurtner’s wooden reliefs highlight the repressive nature and contextual arbitrariness of defining weapons in general and passive weaponry in particular. Who determines what a weapon is? What is protection and shield? And who defends what? The artist questions how violence is produced and simultaneously concealed in the democratic state and examines the power of interpretation over public space.

The spatial installation is complemented by a sound piece by Betül Merve Tekoğlu and accompanied by a framework program that discursively embeds the history and present
of freedom of assembly and locates and expands it in current feminist practices. A publication will be released at the end of the exhibition.

further events:

03.05.2023 // 19:00 Never relinquish the streets! Discussion on the history of the right of assembly with Elke Steven (sociologist) and Katharina Gamm (lawyer for criminal law), moderated by Cornelia Herfurtner
05.05.2023 // 15:00 Berührungen und Selbstschutz? Inclusive art education with Katrin Dinges (artist and cultural educator)
10.05-13.05.2023 // 16:00-19:00 Betül Merve Tekoğlu: Sirens sound installation
13.05.2023 // 15:00 Nicht eine* weniger- Intergenerational Roundtable on Autonomous Feminist Organizing with Annalisa Cananzi (E.A.S.T. – Essential Autonomous Struggles Transnational), Cora Mohr (FrauenLesbenGruppe Frankfurt a.M.), Lee Stevens (collective member of Raumerweiterungshalle, artist and care worker, Berlin) and Suna Qu (political education, Berlin), moderated by Amina Été and Cornelia Herfurtner

Please inform us of any special needs by e-mail: mail@alpha-nova-kulturwerkstatt.de
The events will be held in German spoken language. Whispered translations into English will be organized together as needed on-site. Children are welcome.