Reality & me

REALITY ADDICTS don't attempt to understand or evaluate the world. They install little traps, commit themselves to nonsense, and seek to multiply reality by means of exaggeration, rupture, distance, and ever-new diversions. They enjoy the paradoxes, celebrate technical defects, and play with the near-possible. And they need a sense of humour, because it helps them to pinpoint contradictions.

REALITY ADDICTS connect separately existing realities either winking or grinning - whether they create a circular statement or pretend the great dream come true: Naoto Kobayashi and Mai Yamashita bought mineral water from a German well-spring in Japan. With these bottles in their luggage they travelled to the water's distant origin in order to release it ("The Release of Mineral Water", Video-Screening "reality & me", February 3, 17 hrs). The Azorro Group from Poland portray themselves with decision-makers from the art world: Their video "Portrait with a Curator" shows the four group members posing at several art events and openings, while far in the background some influential curator or art critic comes along (Video-Screening "reality & me", February 3, 17 hrs).

Two works presented in the transmediale lounge show protagonists who seek self-affirmation in a world which has become too complex. One is uttering a fast-rapping monologue on the best possible strategy to buy the latest technology without being taken for a ride by "them". Being both, totally over-informed and paranoid he finally leaves the purchase decision to his instincts (Stefan Panhans, "Sieben bis zehn Millionen"). The other one stands in front of a mirror and drains a large-sized Coke from the bottle. Every gulp makes her belch and, before she takes the next gulp, she tells herself "it's me" [ich bin's] - self-assurance as well as self-assessment (Freya Hattenberger, "ich bin's").

The internet film-club "Multclub" by Oleg Minich and Galina Ivanovna Senatarskaya (www.multclub.org) defies political reality under Belorussia's dictatorship. Multclub's films are presented in the transmediale lounge. They show political caricature and satirical animation based on everyday experiences: the restrictive politics of president Lukashenko and his high-ranking officials, and the country's political isolation. Just a few months ago the project became a target of Belorussia's general prosecution, its films were rated as "defamation and insult to the president's dignity", their technical equipment was confiscated and the designer arrested. Senatarskaya and Minich will hold a lecture on this topic in the transmediale salon (February 5, 18.30 hrs).

Jennifer Lyons-Reid's und Carl Kuddell's political satire "First Fleet Back" is a post-colonial counter-strike. "Uncle Kevin" challenges the Crown with his slogan "De-colonise Australia!" and his plan is to ship back all white Australians to Europe. In a blend of cinema verité, Blaxploitation and Reality-TV satire, the film pushes the boundaries of documentary, offering thought-provoking insights into the past to build a post-colonial future together (Video-Screening: "intercepting reality" February 3, 21 hrs).