OFF THE TIMELINE

July 13th - October 6th, 2024

OFF THE TIMELINE - In extension of LINES, LIVES AND LIES, On The Inside presents the vibrant exhibition OFF THE TIMELINE in its upper space. This exhibition features works by 31 students from Aernout Mik's current class at the Kunstakademie Münster in Germany. The students, who spend an average of four years in the class, vary in age and development. While their primary focus is on video, the exhibition also includes photography, performance, painting, installation, and sculpture. The works explore a richness of themes: new forms of living and working, family and origins, patriotism, identity, vulnerability, health, gender, cosplay, skin and intimate touches, remembering or forgetting, Buddhism and repetition, technological utopia and dystopia, how the digital transforms us, trauma, policing, and climate activism, among others. These themes are approached both in a documentary style and through speculative fiction, or a combination of the two.

This exhibition emphasizes the shared learning experience in German art academies, in contrast to the more individual guidance in Dutch academies. For Aernout Mik, this collective aspect is an essential part of his teaching philosophy. He sees himself not as a hierarchical professor, but as a moderator who fosters a horizontal learning environment where students and teachers collaborate and build a close-knit community. The exhibition reflects this collaboration between students and professor.

By simultaneously showing both exhibitions, a unique perspective emerges on the various stages of artistic development of young artists, the paths they take, and the themes relevant to them. It showcases the intersection of the still searching and the more completed, sharing the same intensity.

About Aernout Mik -  Aernout Mik is a Dutch artist, internationally known for his videos and installations. Mik was awarded the A.H. Heineken  Prize for Art in 2002. He represented the Netherlands in the Dutch Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale; participated in other international biennales in Sao Paulo, Berlin, Istanbul, Nagoya and Gwangju; and had solo exhibitions at venues such as the MoMa in New York; Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and Jeu de Paume in Paris. In his work, Mik plays with fictitious scenarios that bear a strong resemblance to political reality, lingering between documentation and performance. His video installations examine the expectations and behaviours of certain situations and invite the viewer to exercise their imagination. In addition to his artistic practice, Mik serves as a professor at the University of Fine Arts in Münster, Germany, and mentors residents at the Rijksacademy in Amsterdam.

Acknowledgments: Klasse Mik, University of Fine Art Munster, Friends of Münster.