May 20 – May 25, 2026 – Shanghai, curated by Zhichao Zhu
Before entering the horizon of artistic practice, objects or props often remain dormant at the dead-ends of functionality or within the redundancies of global supply chains – static entities in a state of „suspended animation“ under standardized production. However, in the intertwined practices of Robert Bramkamp and Susanne Weirich, these inorganic bodies are stripped from their mundane routines and transformed into active existences that bridge the boundaries between the material and the biological, fact and fiction. This represents a complementary evolutionary path for the „Object“: Bramkamp drives the evolutionary soul of the narrative, while Weirich shapes the tactile body of matter.
Through a series of film screenings, dialogues, and workshop practices, which showcase the work of Susanne Weirich and Robert Bramkamp in Shanhgai, the process of transfiguring objects from standardized dead matter on an assembly line into narrative with emotional tension and historical depth will be explored. Here, the evolution of the inorganic is no longer a physical accident, but a vitalistic metabolism driven by artistic will, a moving-image experiment on the reconstruction of reality. The project explores cinema as an „open structure“ and examines its role in constructing narrative practice, social observation, and media reflection. [Text by Zhichao Zhu]
Screening Schedule
May 20 | 19:00 Chinesische Wochen (Chinese Weeks) Venue: Goethe-Institut Shanghai
May 22 | 19:00 Die Ausstattung der Welt (Make up the World) Venue: Goethe-Institut Shanghai
May 23 | 14:00 – 17:00 Die Ausstattung der Welt (Make up the World) Screening Venue: YUZ Museum
May 24 | 18:30 – 20:30 Art Girls Venue: Fotografiska Shanghai
May 25 | TBD Workshop / Masterclass Venue: Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts (SIVA)
Organized by the Department for Cultural and Education of the German Consulate General in Shanghai and supported by collaborative partners including the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts (SIVA), YUZ Museum, and Fotografiska Shanghai, the program features a five-day itinerary of film screenings, post-screening talks, workshops and masterclasses.