Bernhard Holaschke

Do You Believe in Gods

Relikte und ihre zeitgenössischen Gegenstücke

How much trust should we have in our perceptions? How profoundly have the symbols at work in the cultural genesis of identities changed even as the basic emotions have remained the same? Bernhard Holaschke’s (b. Heilbronn, 1986; lives and works in Berlin and Wuppertal) practice grapples with shifts in the historiography of culture and its artifacts. In videos, paintings, drawings, objects, and sculptures, Holaschke studies iconographic representations of cultural identity assets and relics, harnessing both traditional motifs in art history and images drawn from pop culture from the 1990s to the present. His works elicit emotional responses from the viewers, with apprehension, laughter, irritation, and surprise in central roles.

Do You Believe in Gods presents a selection of 111 ink drawings and collages created over the past 12 months. With essays by Jan Schillmöller, Beate Scheder, Lisa Alice Klosterkötter, and Alex Pilarski.