Exhibition + Events

NEW MEMORIES

EL ARBI BOUQDIB ARCHIVE

Artists: Sergey Bratkov, Elshan Ghasimi, Ben Greber, Markus Hoffmann, Michal Martychowiec, Patrick Panetta, Max Schaffer, Stark & Shakupa

Curated by Eleonora Frolov and JMH Schindele
Concept and initiative: JMH Schindele

Opening: Sunday, 17. August 2024, 3 - 10 pm
Pumpwerk Berlin, Am Pumpwerk 4, 12524 Berlin

Exhibition: 18. August – 6. October 2024, Saturday and Sunday, 3 - 8 pm

Dear friends of art, culture and memory,

After seven years of preparation, the curators and the EL ARBI BOUQDIB ARCHIVE (EBA) cordially invite you to the opening of the exhibition "NEW MEMORIES". This unique exhibition presents new artworks drawn from the autopoietic archive by nine authors from the visual arts, film, and music. New memories of an unknown hermeticist are created through individual interpretation and artistic realisation.

The El Arbi Bouqdib Archive was launched in 2017 as an inter- and transdisciplinary long-term project. It is based on the estate of the Moroccan mathematician, poet, cyberpunk, numerologist and Koran researcher El Arbi Bouqdib. Bouqdib (*1947, Khouribga - †2016, Bremen) was a multifaceted personality and a fascinating figure of the outsider and hermit. His life and work covered multiple continents, bringing together seemingly opposing concepts like rationality and faith, physics, mathematics and metaphysics. Bouqdib searched for the scientific verification and theory behind his early religious and magical experiences throughout his life. This field of tension, which he carried within himself throughout his life, reflects fundamental conflicts in our civilisation between science and faith/religion.

The multi-author project is dedicated to the multi-perspective interpretation of memories and identities and explores the process of collective narration. This novel biographical approach to the life of El Arbi Bouqdib transcends individual boundaries and achieves universal relevance.

The exhibition includes visual art, music, literature and poetry that deal with Bouqdib's legacy. The outstanding exhibits include the "Elies Miniatures" concert cycle with the album "The Flower and Death", presented as a multi-channel video installation and a live concert on 7 September. This work results from a collaboration between the composer and virtuoso Elshan Ghasimi and the filmmakers Stark & Shakupa and JMH Schindele. In "Mr & Mrs Bouqdib", sculptor Ben Greber sheds light on the relationship between the unlikely couple. In his installation, Ukrainian artist Sergey Bratkov explores the Koranic code, the number 19. Max Schaffer reflects on numerological speculation by approaching numbers in education. Patrick Panetta's new work deals with a book written by Bouqdib and monumentalises it. Further artistic positions by Markus Hoffmann and Michal Martychowiec will be on display in the historic Pumpwerk in Grünau, which is being used as an art and cultural centre for the first time.

Events:

Opening
on Saturday, 17 August, from 3 - 8 pm
Book a free ticket here

Curator-guided tour with artist talks
On Sunday, 24 August 2024 and on Saturday, 21 September 2024, at 4 pm
Book a free ticket here

Concert
Elies Miniatures III - The Flower and Death
Elshan Ghasimi, Stark & Shakupa, JMH Schindele
On Saturday, 7 September 2024, at 7 pm
Book a ticket here

Concert
DUO Philipp Püschel and Elshan Ghasimi
On Sunday, 15 September 2024, at 5 pm
Book a free ticket here

Finissage
On Sunday, 6 October 2024, from 3 - 6 pm
Book a free ticket here

Further information about the programme: https://bublitz.org/en/calendar/