eroticism, violence and death are fused into 'HR giger & mire lee' dystopian universe in berlin

schinkel pavillon brings together two uncanny universes 

the schinkel pavillon hosts artworks of the late swiss visionary HR giger and the south korean artist mire lee. the pavillon’s main octagon-shaped space is transformed into a ‘womb-like’ room, inviting visitors for exploration of the iconic sculptures, early paintings, and drawings by the alien creator interacting with dynamic pieces by the korean artist. 

HR giger was a painter, sculptor and designer known as the ‘father’ of xenomorph — the protagonist monster in ridley scott’s 1979 film ‘alien’. mire lee became known for her kinetic sculptures and quasi-alchemical installations. combing these two worlds, the visitors will face a seductive yet dystopian scenario.

the octagon-shaped plinth created by lee turns into a stage for a demonic, violently sexy love story between lee’s new animatronic work endless house (2021) and giger’s iconic necronom (alien) (1990) sculpture

© the artists and schinkel pavilion photos by frank sperling ⠀

transforming into a womb-like chamber

the exhibition not only reveals the artist’s iconic pieces but also characterizes giger as a late surrealist. it presents the artist’s influential oeuvre, giving guests a chance to enter the dystopian universe of his mind. in complement, a fusion of sexuality, corporeality, and technology are combined in lee‘s intricate arrangements. her sculptures made of silicone, PVC, tubes, machinery, metal and concrete weave, depict dysfunctional organisms, dissected body parts, fleshy limbs, or intestines.

the disturbing feeling is spread by giger’s visions of grotesque, mutated figures that reflect his fear concerning the nuclear arms race of the cold war, and his uncanny explorations of prenatal traumas. entering the schinkel pavilion, one can get immersed into a disturbing cosmos, where deformed silhouettes and slimy creatures transform the space into a nightmare. 

‘lee’s carriers – offsprings (2021) are suspended from the ceiling, these bulbous multi-limbed creatures are fed with viscous liquids pumped through motor-driven tubes, reminiscent of umbilical cords, that occasionally squirt. like bodies or beings in various states of fullness and hollowness, growth and decline, carriers – offsprings manifest lee’s explorations of extremes, as well as the fetish of ‘vorarephelia’– the yearning to completely absorb a living being, or to be consumed by it, or even a return to the mother’s womb.’

an insight of artists’ dark imagination

the lower level of the pavilion reveals a ‘demonic and violently sexy love story‘  arranged around a dialogue between giger’s necronom (alien) (1990) and lee’s new animatronic sculpture endless house (2021). both giger’s and lee’s worlds ‘are phantasmagorias of humans and machines forming an indissoluble whole and constantly shifting between the stages of decline and resilience, lust and revulsion, hopelessness and power – thus emblematic of the polarities of our own existence.’ 

mire lee, carriers: offsprings, 2021

1/10

 

mire lee, carriers: offsprings, 2021 (detail)

laying on the floor distressingly, in endless loops

 

 

biomechanoid (1969) sculpture - part-industrial beings are trapped in positions within an incubator-like apparatus

 

HR giger, frau mit kind, 1967

 

 

project info:

name: HR giger and mire lee

curated by: agnes gryczkowska
assistant curator: hendrike nagel

location: schinkel pavilion, berlin

dates: 18. september 2021 – 16. january 2022