For decades, you could find a branch of the department store chain Galeria Kaufhof in almost every German town. But the former giant is now increasingly being replaced by online shopping, continuously leaving behind huge, vacant department store buildings.
The confusion about one of these buildings new use is clearly visible on the faces of the passers-by as they look through the display windows of the exhibition. What is on view here disrupts the immaculate display of the neighboring ZARA store and yet some elements of the space seamlessly blend into the surrounding shopping context. A long curtain is reminiscent of changing rooms and in the center of the room floats a figure that seems like a mannequin at first glance. The figure is part of an entire sculptural ensemble titled ‘Sculpture for a Mall (trying on socks)’ by Manuel Cornelius.

While examining the configuration one’s eye is soon drawn to a cartoonishly oversized foot that looks somewhat grimy and malodorous and whose toes are curled surrealistically into an anatomically astonishing position, a gesture of pointing with the big toe. Similar to pointing with the index finger, but less provocative, yet still evoking a feeling of discomfort. This feeling is intensified by tightly pulled wire ropes that extend through the entire sculpture and place it under tension. Passing through malls and city centers some of us might experience forces that are specific to these areas. A pulling exercised by the various brands offering you a new identity.

Janine Steiner’s drawings continue the exploration of the commercial cultivation of body and identity. Her pictorial language is derived from the art historical genre of ‘The Toilette of Venus’ and is informed by contemporary images of beauty and femininity found in advertising and social media. Standardised female figures are measuring, grooming, and analyzing each other. It is unclear whether we are dealing with a sisterhood that looks out for each other, or whether the individuals portrayed are being restricted and controlled by their peers.

The pursuit of beauty is often closely linked to romance. Manuel Cornelius’ ‘Stent’, a softly curved pink sculpture, is dedicated to the heart and takes its name from a life-saving medical device. The stent is a slender wire tube, tiny enough to navigate through the veins of an arm, where it will travel all the way up to the heart. At its destination, a miniature balloon inside the tube is inflated, applying pressure from within and causing the device to expand. This expansion clears the previously clogged vein, allowing blood to flow freely again. In a similar manner, an internal support structure expands the translucent silicone skin of Cornelius‘ wall sculpture into a bulging shape, depicting the moment of stent insertion and touching on feelings of heartache and loss.

Behind the curtain, a small video projection of glittering cages bathes the separated room in flickering light. Ariana Grande, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Nelly Furtado, Ciara, Shakira, Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus. They all have one thing in common: they have danced in cages. Either in one of their music videos or on stage. For ‘Popstars Dancing’, these cages were recreated in 3D software and the corresponding dance footage was projected onto the 3D models of the cages. The resulting footage was then edited according to the logic of music videos: fast cuts, lots of movement and flashy effects.
Like the often disappointingly uniform contents of shop windows, the sheer number of cages collected in ‘Popstars Dancing’ raises questions about originality. In the period from 2002 to 2015, almost every mainstream female singer has appeared in a cage. While the designs of these cages take many different forms, their underlying narratives remain the same and can mostly be categorised into two main tropes: Firstly, the caged singer is portrayed as a sexy siren, an exotic and animalistic threat; the cage becomes a showcase, but also a wall of security. Secondly, the cage tells a story that has become increasingly recurrent in commercial contexts, that of an individual who is constrained from living their true self, striving for freedom and breaking free from personal and societal boundaries. 

In retrospect, the image of the caged pop star takes on yet another layer. Several feuds between artists and their record labels highlight the delicate balance between profit and creativity, exposing an industry that puts enormous pressure on mental health and artistic expression.