Gedankenströme

Metaphorical mapping of the soul

An exhibition about Orwell's vision in the ultrasound of time. Big Data meets Big Brother. Google's cartography and the remapping of the self.

In the BURN-IN Gallery, under the artistic direction of Sonja Dolzer, the solo exhibition GEDANKENSTRÖME by Syrian-Austrian artist Rifaae (Refaayi Ahmad) presents itself as a kaleidoscope of emotional and conceptual depth. On display are more than 30 medium-format works created between 2020 and 2023.

Rifaae's art is a metaphorical mapping of his own journey - from his flight from Syria to his arrival and establishment in Austria. Each work is a station on this mapping, a step in the metamorphosis of the artist and his identity. Like a salmon swimming against the current, his early works symbolize the struggle and determination in search of a new habitat. The Salmon cycle reflects not only the physical journey, but also an inner emotional migration.

The search for localization in a new environment manifests itself in the works of the Maps cycle. The maps here are not just geographical representations, but metaphorical landscapes of the feelings and thoughts that are experienced when adapting to a new life.

The Birth cycle ultimately reveals the artist's rebirth in a new culture. It is an artistic manifestation of the development of a new identity that is shaped by both the roots and the new environment.

Rifaae's works are profound and multi-layered. The current ultrasound images from the Birth cycle bear witness to the beauty and uniqueness of each creature. At the same time, the multiple codes in the pictorial space illustrate a mapping of the human being within a precisely defined virtual space. The contrast between the accidentally natural and the already fixed develops a broad arc of tension that gives rise to many associations and generates further scope and diversity. George Orwell's novel 1984, Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse, Google's algorithm, search engines, maps, artificial intelligence - all instruments that attempt to decode the human being and create new realities.

Sonja Dolzer, who was instrumental in shaping the concept of the exhibition, emphasizes the importance of digital transformation and its cultural impact, which is reflected in Rifaae's works. His art, rich with stories of transformation and identity, freedom and oppression, individuality and conformity, paints a multi-layered picture of the human experience in a changing world.

GEDANKENSTRÖME is not just an exhibition, but a profound exploration of human nature in the field of tension between progress and regression, centralization and decentralization; it locates the interface between art, culture and social reality. It is a show that challenges both intellectually and emotionally, revealing the conflict between individual uniqueness and social classification.