Please note that this exhibition will be closed from November 2 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The SCHIRN is dedi­cating an inter­na­tional group exhi­bi­tion to espi­onage with its power to fasci­nate, illu­mi­nating this theme as a current source of artistic inspi­ra­tion. Although spies are presented as glam­orous in popular culture, the infor­ma­tion they obtain from covert campaigns is socially explo­sive. Espi­onage is linked to the unau­tho­rized procure­ment of rare secrets or confi­den­tial infor­ma­tion. While in the past national govern­ments spied on indi­vid­uals or states, in times of digital commu­ni­ca­tion private indi­vid­uals are now able to reveal hidden govern­mental secrets or whistle­blowers can expose govern­ments spying on their own citi­zens. This has created the perfect grounds for a renewed interest in the mech­a­nisms of secrecy. The exhi­bi­tion presents works from around 40 inter­na­tional artists, including Simon Denny, Thomas Demand, Stan Douglas, Dora García, Rodney Graham, Gabriel Lester, Jill Magid, Meta­haven, Trevor Paglen, Cornelia Schleime, Noam Toran, Suzanne Treister, and Nomeda & Gedim­inas Urbonas. About 70 paint­ings, photographs, videos, sculp­tures, and instal­la­tions address the topic from a contem­po­rary perspec­tive, with the works touching on aspects of espi­onage like surveil­lance, para­noia, conspiracy, threat, camou­flage, cryp­tog­raphy, manip­u­la­tion, or propa­ganda. On view are a multi­tude of artistic strate­gies and unex­pected objects, exploring the “golden age” of espi­onage during the Cold War and in the context of media super-expo­sure.

The exhi­bi­tion was initi­ated and conceived by Cristina Ricu­pero and Alexandra Midal.