Amok: (English / German Edition) (Paperback)

Graphic Expositions of Social Processes. Nadine Fecht (b. Mannheim, 1976; lives and works in Berlin) creates large-format tableaus and murals based on notational systems. The fascination of her graphemic drawings derives from their complexity and the manifold associations they elicit, bringing to mind the monotonous hum of chanted mantras and the murmur of believers saying the rosary, but also the repetitive actions of a maniac. Recognizably inspired by the oeuvre of Hanne Darboven, Fecht's works nonetheless unfold a distinctive personal epistemic interest. Where Darboven tallied the labor of writing done on a given day as a discrete unit of accomplishment, Fecht inquires into social systems of value such as discipline and self-optimization, employing words and signifiers on several levels: serving as both material and form, they constitute the visual scene on which social tensions between anticipation, disappointment, and experience are enacted. Kunsthalle Mannheim mounts Fecht's first institutional solo exhibition, titled AMOK. The accompanying catalogue surveys the artist's drawings and multimedia installations. With essays by Krisztina Hunya, Thomas Köllhofer, and Kolja Reichert.