Unfinished Histories Vol. VI
»THE BETTER ALCHEMISTS. CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS RESPOND TO LEONHARD THURNEYSSER «HAYTHAM EL-WARDANY UND MONIKA RINCK Vol V. of the multi-part exhibition project referred to the alchemical riddles of Leonhard Thurneysser, who lived in the monastery ruins in the 16th century and ran a printing press. Vol VI. continues and presents contemporary reactions to Thurneysser's work by Haytham El-Wardany and Monika Rinck. Curated by Katja Kynast and Hauke Zießler 31.5.2020 04 - 06:30 pm The Better Alchemists in Dialogue lecture, reading and talk with Haytham El-Wardany, Jasmin Mersmann, Monika Rinck Hosted by Babes Bar with „Libations“ moderated by Paz Guevara 4 pm lecture: Jasmin Mermann „Hyperphysik, oder: Die Transmutationen des Leonhard Thurneysser zum Thurn“ 5 pm reading and talk: Haytham El-Wardany „True Fables“ and Monika Rinck „Goldes Wert“
Exhibition
01. Feb – 31. May 2020
When does a stone speak? A stone speaks when a situation becomes so inhumane that people have no words for it. And when does a donkey, a rat, a cricket and a turtle speak? They spoke in the 8th century in a book of fables called Kalila Wa Dimna, which was translated from Hindi into Farsi and later from Farsi into Arabic. Here they spoke not only to teach morality, but also to articulate a social antagonism between those who can speak the language correctly and those who cannot. Do animals still speak today? Who knows? But in moments of crisis and danger like ours, we must listen patiently, especially to the silence of those who are silenced. Perhaps then we will find a language that can save us. These are the questions that Haytham El-Wardany’s »True Fables« deal with.
Full Text of »True Fables« by El-Wardany
His father was a goldsmith, and a street in the Berlin district of Wedding is named after him: Leonard Thurneysser, academic and charlatan. Born 1531 in Basel, died 1596 in Cologne, he spent many years in Berlin. His work intertwined different fields of research such as pharmacy, chemistry, metallurgy, botany, mathematics, astrology, astronomy, typography, metallurgy and medicine. The boundaries between science and magic were far more permeable in his time than is assumed today. To unite all these activities, the obvious choice was the profession of the alchemist, whose aspiration is, roughly speaking, to approach eternal life and infinite wealth without great effort. In her text installation »GOLDES WERT«, the author Monika Rinck deals with the life and work of the famous resident who once lived in the Franciscan Monastery in Berlin and explores the topicality and obsolescence of human desires.
Full text of »GOLDES WERT« by Rinck