"–" (2012)
Doppeldenk’s "–" (minus) is the dark half of a work complex loosely revolving around Kraftwerk and the associations triggered by their name.
Embracing the bad sides of life in a humorous, playful way, the work ambiguously deals with the fall of mankind by examining the complexity humanity’s quest for a better life, which may turn good intentions into bad outcomes and vice versa. With references to Hieronymous Bosch’s “Hell” triptych both in form and by the fusion of elements of pop culture iconography with traditional techniques, “-“ is not only a painting, but a triptych that proposes another axis of interpretation on the religion of advancement through technology. The triptych’s left and right wings depict Adam and Eve as angry and voluptuous robots surrounded by artefacts of capital sins, capturing the moral and ethical conflicts of a globalized world.
The concept of Leipzig-based art collective Doppeldenk (doublethink), comprised of Marcel Baer and Andreas Glauch, comes from George Orwell’s dystopian novel, “Nineteen Eighty-Four”, and examines the power of holding two contradicting beliefs in one mind simultaneously. Their work is characterized by an uninhibited use of glaringly colourful icons from pop- and subculture to create a disturbing intimacy that captures the viewer into their multilayered universe. Doppeldenk’s thematic approach is characterised by capitalism, ecocide, war, terror, religion, mythology, loneliness, and technology, and the inherent ambiguity contained by these themes.