Trampoline is pleased to support the solo exhibition of Nils Alix-Tabeling at the Dortmunder Kunstverein in Germany in 2023, titled But who is Ulrike Mandrake ? This support follows a series of artist encounters organised for the Kunstverein’s director Rebekka Seubert, through Trampoline’s professional invitation programme in 2020-22.
In his multimedia performances and installations Nils Alix-Tabeling (*1991 in Paris) moves on the threshold between fiction and reality. His works quote from science fiction, fashion, historical objects and furniture, shamanism and drag – critically reflecting the history of institutional violence against female and queer bodies.
But who is Ulrike Mandrake ? reconsiders the legacy of 1970s terrorism. The title evokes the name of a fictional character and suggests a semantic connection between the journalist and RAF terrorist Ulrike Meinhof (1934-1976) and the poisonous medicinal and ritual plant mandrake, which visually resembles human figures. It also refers to the human longing to penetrate to a supposed root of evil through scientific understanding. With an extensive new group of works as well as a performance, the artist navigates between the times, worlds, ambivalences and wounds that this topic opens up.
Nils Alix-Tabeling studied fine arts at the Academy La Cambre, Brussels and at the Royal College of Art, London. His works have been shown internationally, including at Palazzo Bollani, Venice (2022), Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2019) and Kunstraum, London (2019). The Kunstverein presents his first institutional exhibition in Germany.
