'Embedded Art: Art in the name of Security' at the Akademie der Kunste
by Cara Snyman
'Embedded Art: Art in the Name of Security' is hosted by the Akademie der Kunste at Pariser Platz in Berlin, and curated by Artist Group BBM. The site is significant: next to the Brandenburg Gate, security is visibly tight, due to the proximity of the American, French and British embassies, along with the Holocaust memorial and the Reichstag. The constant surveillance outside is reflected in 'Embedded Art', which focuses on the measures nation-states employ to keep 'us' safe. Of course, in Europe and the US 'safety and security' means something quite different than in South Africa: in this Berlin context 'we' are being kept 'safe' primarily from terrorist threat and, less officially, from mass invasion of Third World have-nots. 'Embedde ArtÖ' thus considers the number of less than savoury methods in use, and the technologies being developed to accomplish a 'secure' state.
As the press release explains, all work was 'realised on location against a background of research into future security'. And as part of the curatorial strategy, artists were encouraged to 'embed' themselves within state or commercial defense structures to produce work. This infiltration is a double-edged sword, where production of the critique depends on acting as double agent or even accomplice. It creates an interesting moral position that forces viewers to similarly acknowledge that they are implicated in the actions of their elected governments.
While a number of works look at major human rights violations in the 'war on terror', much of the show focuses rather on how 'we' are affected - the invasion of privacy and the restriction of movement of the ordinary individual. The exhibition goes to great lengths to bring home the fact that protecting 'us' means that our every movement is also monitored. This installation uses the security cameras at the Akademie der Kunste, projecting live feed on twelve large monitors.
To further highlight the underlying fascism inherent in structures protecting 'our' democracy, the exhibition is divided into a small public exhibition space, and an underground 'restricted access' area where the majority of work is housed and projected live, also on the aforementioned screens. Interested parties needed to register to see the exhibition in its entirety, be escorted by a 'security guard' (in Jacques Coetzer designed the bullet-proof vest) and are briefed regarding their expected code of conduct. In what is intended as a strict military-style exercise, visitors are informed that they will not be allowed to leave once the tour starts, and that 'orders' need to be promptly and precisely followed for their own protection. The allocated time for each installation was severely limited, and was punctuated by whistle-blowing when the limit was reached.
The performance aspect weakened 'Embedded Art'; managing to be both too restrictive and not extreme enough. The 'security guard' conducting the tours was a lot more art school than authoritarian, leaving one with the impression that if you did not comply with 'regulations' he might ask nicely - substantially undermining the militaristic intention. On the other hand the extreme time limits made it difficult to really engage with the work - but then that seems characteristic of 'Embedded Art'. The show in general functioned more as a performance piece than an exhibition, and herein lay both its strength and weakness. At times feeling themed rather than curated, the emphasis was not on individual work, but on the political, moral, and conceptual dilemma of the security governed state of the world.
Korpys & Löffler filmed a Rhineland-Palatinate-police riot squad workshop, where officers were instructed in the use of the Taser electronic control device - a non-lethal weapon which uses electrical current to inflict pain and stun. In the workshop, police officers held by colleagues are 'shot' with the Taser. Watching these men collapse in agony one after the other seems a bizarre macho ritual, and worse, nauseatingly reminds one of the Milgram experiment - something that went a long way in explaining how atrocities are committed by ordinary citizens.
While the work does not always speak adequately for itself, 'Embedded Art' as an exhibition does succeed in highlighting important issues regarding our engagement with and converse avoidance of the mechanisms that sustain 'our' way of life. And as limited as art can be as activism, 'Embedded Art' manages to send us a clear and timely warning of the way ahead if we, as ordinary citizens, continue to abdicate responsibility.
Opens: January 24
Closes: March 22
Tues - Sunday 11am - 8pm
