Janaina Tschäpe & Ursula Reuter Christiansen: Das unheimliche

Das Unheimliche is a dialogical exhibition between Janaina Tschäpe and Ursula Reuter Christiansen. The exhibition unfolds the artistic kinship that exists between the two artists—a kinship that may not be immediately obvious but, upon closer study, opens up new perspectives on their respective practices. Tschäpe and Reuter Christiansen have chosen each other, as they experience a kinship rooted in artistic approaches, the origin of their work production, and their relationship to what is immediately at hand. It’s about their approach to the creative process, and the exhibition thereby offers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of both artists.

Tschäpe and Reuter Christiansen have chosen to structure the exhibition around Freud’s concept of Das Unheimliche. Freud plays with the words and the relationship between Das Heimliche (the homely or familiar) and Das Unheimliche (the uncanny or eerie), deriving a connection between the two. The uncanny is something familiar that has become alien. It is the return of the known in an eerie form. It is this ambivalence—the fusion of the homely and the strange, the simultaneous attraction and fear—that has sparked the interest of Tschäpe and Reuter Christiansen, and which they wish to use as a reference point for the exhibition. The exhibition will feature both older and newly produced works.