Beyond the Pain

Pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever he says it does - Margo McCaffrey 1968

The experience of pain and the reception of art are as informed by cultural-societal norms as they are profoundly individual experiences. The artworks here not only reflect various dimensions of pain and coping with it but also invite you to try them out: in the protected space of the exhibition at Galerie Stadt Sin-delfingen, visitors can expose themselves to extreme situations, test their limits, and sharpen their resilience.

This approach takes place initially from a distance, as we empathetically (or voyeuristically?) watch someone else cry or view American soldiers under going therapy for the traumas of war by means of animation. In addition a filmic encounter with a mass grave in Peru attempts to restore dignity to the victims. Living stones act as an example of the ability to survive, and a prosthetic leg becomes a weapon and in so doing its wearer a superhero.

Finally we are able to put ourselves to the test: undergoing healing rituals, practising a backbend, being exposed to acoustic torture in a darkened room or subjecting ourselves to a hyperventilating artist expunging her boundaries.

The book’s texts illuminate various cultural aspects of how we deal with pain and the possible strategies in overcoming it and discuss the roles artistic work can take on in this context and how contemporary art is connected with this universal theme of humanity.