Sculptural installation in public space
In their collaborative work Exclusive Incline (2020), Sunette L. Viljoen and Egemen Demirci take on the object properties of an awning to address questions about conceptual boundaries of abstraction, space, and exhibition practices. The two artists began working together on this project in Berlin and are now transferring the concept to the urban space of Baden-Baden, which they have observed in detail for this purpose. The minimalist, intensely colored awning, designed especially for Baden-Baden, creates a private space in public through its unusual dimensions. Yet when approached, the awning reveals screen-printed inscribed phrases such as “Guilt carries the deed.” The object thus becomes a metaphor for the sociopolitical turning away from questions of guilt and the concomitant arrogance of the perpetrator’s role. Viljoen and Demirci’s work invites the audience to reflect within this private-public space on the motivations in personal and public life that follow a similar path and create their own needs and spaces.