Exhibition at the Viktoria-Speicher Berlin

5 September to 3 October 1998

Sirens, these bird-woman beings of Greek mythology, who were to lead with their entangling singing boatmen to ruin, still lure today with new techniques. The invention of the French engineer Charles Cagniard de la Tour warns of danger of all kinds since 1819.

Since the beginning of September, Sirenen has been moving to the Victoria store on the river Spree in Berlin-Kreuzberg. More than 600 visitors were invited to the opening of the exhibition 'Sirenen' in the former grain store on the Spreeufer on 4 September. Until well after midnight, a number of performances and actions were to be seen alongside the exhibition objects. In this store, where works of the so-called "degenerate art" were stored by the Nazis in 1938, 43 international artists and artists displayed painting, photography, sculptures and installations.

All the works in common were the reaction to a concept whose numerous levels of meaning have one thing in common: a similar subject with the ever-recurring content; the struggle between man and woman, the relationship of eros and death, temptation and resistance. If Odysseus were on the road today, he would be struggling with many unsurpassable sirens, for advertising escapes no one, and only wax is not enough to escape temptations.

Particularly noteworthy are the works of Senegal-born artist Kanakassy (Mansour Ciss), who was represented with his space installation 'Cimetière des Pêcheurs', which was already shown at the Biennale DAK'ART 1998 in Dakar in the national museum. In addition, the video installation by Julia Soubbotina (Russia) and Javier Salgueiro (Bolivia), the filigree vessels of the sculptor Anne Ochmann and the elegant mysterious ceramic objects of the sculptor Gudrun Petzold.

The project was co-ordinated and curated by Barbara Wolters, Cornelia Bruning and Peter Wollenweber from the Berliner Kunstverein Quarts eV Within the framework of the exhibition project, the association audibly organized readings and concerts in the store and the 'Sirenen Bar' Rest with a drink, the atmosphere of the place and the art to let itself.

This project came through the friendly support of BEHALA, the Schöneberger Café GOLTZ and the companies PH. Halter GmbH, Insisolisol and Geiertronic video equipment.