ALEX GARDNER – FREE-FOR-ALL
2021-07-19The titles of his works dictate the reading and let the highly emotional and familiar moments overturn immediately. One leans back because the other is doing the unpleasant work. He is the shift leader of a troll factory, according to the title, where people flood the Internet with political commentary for a fee. The other seeks physical closeness and reaches out because it is possible. “Cheap Ain’t Cheap,” Gardner reminds us, admonishing and warning. And shows that the burden literally always rests on someone else’s back. Be it human or animal. There is no privileged person without a disadvantaged person. “Don’t Hate Yourself”, he demands, where two people seem to be in each other’s arms and fight each other at the same time. “Predict Behavior Eliminate Threat,” he advises. Think and act with foresight, loosening your grip before it becomes too tight. In the picture, this moment has long since passed, and both are gripping hard.
Opposite – Cheap Ain’t Cheap, 2021
Exhibition runs through to August 29th, 2021
König Galerie
St. Agnes – Alexandrinenstr, 118-121
10969 Berlin
