Thaer Maarouf's painterly works deal with moments of introspection in which the artist subjects the self to abstracting formations in order to intensify the presence of the body. Body and thoughts are shaped by external influences that affect our actions and thus jeopardize the independence of the self. This “infiltration,” as the artist titles the exhibition, has an impact on our mental health by limiting the individual's ability to act. Maarouf therefore calls one series of his paintings “Brainless”, referring to the manipulability through media and politics. Another series is entitled “Hand and Brain,” in which the brain is linked to all actions and activities that involve our hands, among others.

The works on paper and canvas shown in the main room are expanded in the entrance area with installations. “Expansion” consists of two paintings and a metal stand with dangling coat hangers. The central motif of the paintings is an iron which, in conjunction with the clothes rack, refers to ironed and subsequently hung laundry and, in one painting, ironically serves as a man's headdress. Thermodynamically, this would be the melting of the brain, but metaphorically the work is about the transience of existence when time and space dissolve.

Time and space, in turn, serve as the starting point for the work “Dirty Messages,” which is dedicated to the topic of migration. Maarouf sent shoes worn by refugees all over the world, including to heads of state, thereby forcing an exchange of communication. At the forefront of the debate is the fact that goods and merchandise can travel without restriction, but people cannot. The work “X” stands for a void that opens up once the exchange of communication is interrupted. A screen without images and headphones that only play white noise symbolize a state of emergency to which many people are unintentionally exposed. As here, Maarouf always brings his own self into play—his experiences with migration and the thought processes that occupy him.

Text by Walter Seidl