Adrienne und Omari: Press release

 

Location
Super Super Markt, Brunnenstr. 22, Berlin

Dates
April 24 – June 8, 2025

 

During our split winter between Berlin and Japan, we watched Monster, an anime from 2004, set in Germany centered around a Japanese doctor Kenzo Tenma who is a brain surgeon working at Eisler Memorial Hospital. Early on in the show, fraternal twins Johan and Anna Liebert are rushed to the hospital, Johan in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head and Tenma, takes it upon himself to save him although he is instructed not to. This sets the tone for the show and is one of the first times we see the true nature of Tenma, a man who sees all human life as being equal. He does not put those attached to privilege or political power before those who aren’t affiliated with power structures. Although he is an exceptional doctor, he is still viewed as an outsider, and is used by his superiors to satisfy biased agendas until one day he takes a stand against them, grounded in his belief that he must save lives. Tenma believes all life is precious. He becomes this life force that touches everything he comes into contact with, providing hope, clarity and inspiring all to take action and do good. Along with Tenma, there are many characters in the anime that inspired us during the making of our show. We drew inspiration from the things they said, did and taught us. 

We challenged the making of the paintings for the show by not just using paint and brushes, but thinking about other ways to leave a mark. We wanted the works to have a more physical impact so we used objects and materials directly sourced from the city of Berlin to challenge the idea of what a painting could be. It wasn’t important for us to make something that looked “Berlin” or cliché, it was important for us to make something spontaneous, fresh and deliberately Adrienne und Omari in Berlin. Our journey here inspired gestures ranging from flat to sculptural that were specific to our personal experience. Taking an assemblage approach to the works, made those experiences real, all of the materials transformed and given new meanings via the artworks. This was an organic approach so that we could say something together about how inspiring the city was and is to us. The objects convey messages and thoughts and point to meaning in the everyday. We thought about the impact of trace and energy explored through the visual language we created not adhering to one particular aesthetic, but letting the things that attracted us become the guiding light of the show. No one particular narrative supersedes another here, but we worked together to create a unique voice that follows no rules. From the mouth of Monster’s biggest antagonist, Johan Liebert, we believe, “The Big Secret To Breaking The Rules Is To Make It Look As Though You’re Following Them.“