Judith Egger
SHAPE & CONTROL

SHAPE & CNTROL: Hardly any slogan could describe the zeitgeist better than that of a stocking and lingerie company for the promotion of its shapewear products promising the perfect look of the body. Therefore, it is no coincidence that Judith Egger’s solo show at Esther Donatz Gallery has this title. It becomes a symbol of a society which not only demands the highest quality standards and outstanding achievements in the working world, but also dictates a constant optimization of the self in the private life. As a result, it is no big surprise that the movement ”Quantified Self“, founded in San Francisco in 2007, has had a considerable increment in the last years. It focuses on the improvement of body & soul through the evaluation of personal data. According to the principle “Self Knowledge Through Numbers“ and with specific applications, participants are able to measure their levels of blood pressure or body fat, their slow-wave sleep phases and document their social habits and activities. When does discipline turn into masochism and the failure of reaching the optimum into self-contempt? Isn’t there something tragicomic about the race against our own imperfection and the mental as well as physical aging process? Can happiness be found through self-observation and measurements?

Judith Egger‘s interpretation of this subject shows at one glace that she would not unconditionally commit to this credo: The exhibition space is occupied by a ranking figure which almost looks eerie with its monstrous shape and facelessness. The white spiky surface stresses its alien appearance. Medicine balls growing out of the object like pumpkins seem to be out of place. On the one hand, it is fascinating how the sculpture, supported by a number of different prostheses, unfolds itself free from all constraints. Is there, on the other hand, a secret desire to gain control over the faceless monster? Will the leather harnesses on the wall with their snaffles and leashes be able to tame the beast? While the extensive installation even evokes humorous reactions, the harnesses visualize the painful and violent aspects of society’s corset.

As ambivalent as the trends of a time may be, as complex are the works presented in the show oscillating between absurdity, irony and tragedy. Processes of becoming, growing, transformation and decay are a recurring topic in Judith Egger’s work. She crosses frontiers and explores changing conditions of organic, artificial, spiritual or social origin in a multidisciplinary approach.

Judith Egger (*1973, lives and works in Munich) studied at the Royal College of Art in London where she graduated with a master in 2001. She received several grants and awards, such as a one-year DAAD-scholarship for London, a work scholarship from Bundeskulturstiftung Bonn and a music grant from the City of Munich for her performance “Bardo” in 2012 which she presented at Esther Donatz Gallery this summer. Performances, installations, objects, and drawings by Judith Egger were shown in cities like Kitakyushu/Japan, Paris, New York, London, Milan and Beijing. The artist recently realized an art in architecture project at Eisnergutbogen/Hirschgarten, Munich.

The artist will be present during the opening reception.

Contact

Esther Donatz
esther(at)galeriedonatz.de

Nadine Seligmann
nadine(at)galeriedonatz.de

Phone: +49 89 70 07 62 00