Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck – Last oil barrel, date postponed
Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck – Last oil barrel – detail
Diann Bauer – Prologue: Politics as Palliative Care of the Species, 2019 – Video 11:20 min. + XFAST, 2019 – Introductory video for ‘If Nature is Unjust, Change Nature’ talk, 5:20 min
Jan Eric Visser – Untitled, 2023, #1+2
Jan Eric Visser – Untitled, 2023, #3
Jan Eric Visser – Untitled, 2023, #4
Yuri Ancarani – The Challenge, 2016 – Video 70 min
All photos by Aad Hoogendorn, if not mentioned otherwise
All the artworks in the show – Chapter 4: Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet (8 slides)
Andrew Castrucci – Fracktured lives, 2021
Andrew Castrucci – Fracktured lives, 2021 – artist book
Booktable (photo by Alessia Taló)
Chto Delat collective – School of Emergencies, 2023: Lecture performance by Oxana Timofeeva – Video 44 min + Between Shadow and Light, 2023 – Video 70 min + Inside the Diagram – Video 11 min
Chto Delat collective – School of Emergencies, 2023 – detail
Chto Delat collective – School of Emergencies, 2023 – detail
Kevin van Braak & Ipeh Nur – Silence would be treason, 2023
Kevin van Braak & Ipeh Nur – Silence would be treason, 2023 – detail
All photos by Aad Hoogendorn, if not mentioned otherwise.
Exhibition spaces and scenography (slide show).
Atelier van Lieshout Sculpture Garden Entrance. Photo: Alex Close
Rowan van As’ Taxi on the sidewalk in front of Brutus. Photo: Alex Close
Brutus street entrance, Keileweg 18. Photo: Alex Close
Entrance to Petromelancholia through AVL sculpture garden. Photo: Alex Close
Opening speeches in AVL sculpture garden. Photo: Caro Linares
Entrance Petromelancholia on opening night. Photo Caro Linares
Exhibition space “Kathedraal” during build-up. Photo: Alex Close
Installing Marina Zurkow’s Petroleum Manga in “Kathedraal”. Photo: Alex Close
Exhibition at Brutus, in the port of Rotterdam, NL, Sept 1 to Nov 19
In bed with petroleum. In the air. On the road. On the plate. All over and inside bodies. It’s a love affair that modern industrial civilization has been having with oil (and gas), its fuels and the materials created from it. More than that: it’s a love of life, profoundly influencing how people live, move, eat, dress, love, experience, aspire, and believe. A love, though, that has increasingly expressed destructive aspects, excess, exhaustion, abuse, addiction, and contamination.
“Petromelancholia” is the condition that the US energy humanities scholar Stephanie LeMenager diagnosed as being at the core of her home country’s cultural and political struggle to hang on to “oil culture“. The more people realize that the age of oil is eventually going to end—and has to in regard to the state of the planet—the harder they cling on to it. Following this diagnosis, the world has lately been swept by waves of petromelancholia. Acknowledging the long-lasting success of these dynamics of denial, which started 50 years ago, a mere “energy transition” might turn out to be not enough to get over modernity’s true love.
Wouldn’t we also need acceptance and grief, reconciliation and reparations—processes that eventually lead to profound cultural, political and economic transitions?
Upon opening of our OIL-exhibition in Wolfsburg two years ago, Joep van Lieshout, one of the participating artists, asked if we wanted to curate a follow-up show at his newly founded „artist-driven space“ Brutus in the port of Rotterdam.
Rotterdam! One of the oil capitals of Europe, largest port, largest refinery, largest petroleum storage and processing capacities. Largely and radically rebuilt after WW2 in all kinds of modernist style — a through and through petromodern city.
And since our 2017 visit to a Delft ‘Petroleumscapes’ conference, the region had played a role in our own petroleumscapes research, resulting in ‘Greenhause’, a chapter of our Atlas and in some smaller essays and publications).
Though a comparably low-budget project, the possibility to bring our curatorial research there was tempting.
After one and a half years of preparation, with a short residency and a petrosalon at Goethe Institut Rotterdam in april last year as startig points and deciding additional help and motivation, the exhibition opened on Friday, Sept 1st! Other than our Wolfsburg exhibition, which claimed to show the first retrospective of 100 years of petromodern art, „Petromelancholia“ is largely dedicated to our contemporary petromodern states of heart and mind.
The exhibition consists of four chapters: 1 In Bed with Oil 2 Oil Encounters 3 Toxic Legacy and the Museum of Petromodern Futures 4 Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet.
The opening paragraphs of this entry are from the wall-text of the first chapter. All four wall-texts can be downloaded as a pdf here.
Click here to see a photo documentation of all the works in the exhibition.
The exhibition is spread over the complete Brutus-compound and consists of four chapters. Here’s a floorplan (click on image to enlarge or download as pdf).
The very well written book takes on the form of the ironic encyclopedia that has been popular since the nineteenth century, as a parody of the great encyclopedias of the Enlightenment era. Impressive color illustrations complement the text and, according to the authors, justify the “Atlas” of the subtitle (p. 15). In their individual glosses, the authors almost always succeed in offering interesting and often novel discoveries. For example, the topic of drilling is presented in a well-founded and stimulating manner in a brief account. The catalytically controlled chemical transformation of petroleum constituents is also solidly presented under the heading “Molecular Mobilization” (pp. 49–57). Often, the reader’s expectations are deliberately played with—as, for example, when the essay entitled “Animals in the Oil Field” (pp. 199–203) deals not with seabirds that are glued together and dying but, rather, with animals that visit drilling grounds. This approach arouses interest and curiosity but also increases perplexity. The reader is left alone with the material and must tell his own story.
And this is precisely the goal; it also fits the form of the ironic encyclopedia, which from the outset does not lead one to expect that an overview will be presented. The history of oil is a history that crashes over us. “Erdöl: Ein Atlas der Petromoderne” aims to use brief spotlights, from very different perspectives, to draw attention to a substance that is part of the everyday life of modernity. It succeeds in doing so; at the same time, the well documented individual articles offer suggestions for further study and some connections that may be new even to researchers who have been in the field for some time. An English edition is in preparation.«
»Petromelancholia« examines the enormous consequences of a life beyond oil, the magnitude of which many do not yet realize. Unlike the many exhibitions that sing about doom scenarios or kick in the open doors of the climate crisis, Petromelancholia reflects on the legacy of the oil age and the new meaning that this past will irrevocably acquire. What has oil brought us, materially and especially culturally, and what might disappear or change?
A large croud is present at Alexander Klose’s opening speech at BRUTUS Rotterdam!
It’s hard to think of a better location for Petromelancholia than at BRUTUS – situated in the Rotterdam harbor. In few places will the impact of the energy transition be more visible than here. This is therefore the most appropriate place for critical self-reflection with a good dose of melancholy and nostalgia. The exhibition reflects an urgency that has never before been felt this strong.
With works by: Yuri Ancarani (ITA), Rowan van As (NLD), Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck (VEN/GER), Diann Bauer (USA), Uwe Belz (GER), Vanessa Billy (CHE), Kevin van Braak & Ipeh Nur (NLD/IDN), Imani Jacqueline Brown (USA), Andrew Castrucci (USA), Chto Delat (RUS), Timo Demollin (NLD), Tanja Engelberts (NLD), Christoph Girardet (GER), Rumiko Hagiwara (JPN/NLD), heidundgriess (GER), Bernhard Hopfengärtner (GER), Aaditi Joshi (IND), Olaf Mooij (NLD), Leonhard Müllner & Robin Klengel (AUT), Hugo Niebeling (GER), Alain Resnais (FRA), Konstantin Schimanowski (RUS/GER), Miriam Sentler (NLD), Sanaz Sohrabi (IRN/CAN), Johannes Steendam (NLD), Gunhild Vatn (NOR), Jan Eric Visser (NLD), Rachel Youn (USA), Marina Zurkow (USA).
Visit Petromelancholia from 2nd of Sep until 19th of Nov.
During the official opening on Friday September 1st from 8 pm live performances Kems Kriol and DJ Sjoerd Oberman in collaboration with MOMO Fabrique Festival.
From Oct 25 to 29 several special events related to Petromelancholia at Goethe Institut Rotterdam and at Brutus. Program will be published here.
Exhibition on post-mining landscapes and mentalities, on mining that takes place elsewhere, and on the relation between precious metals and digital culture.
Co-curated by Beauty of Oil’s Alexander Klose together with Daniel Herrmann, artistic director of Werkleitz.
From June 2nd to 18th on the compound of Wiederstedt Castle, where the early romantic poet Novalis spent his childhood, in Mansfeld county, a former mining region 40 km west of Halle (Saale).
Egill Sæbjörnsson, Troll Coins, 2023. Installation video @Alexclose
Nature does not want to be the exclusive possession of a single individual. (Novalis, Heinrich von Ofterdingen)
What is My Precious today? And what does that still have to do with exquisite materials from underground? An exhibition project about local and global mining, its consequences as well as its people and natural conditions.
Mansfeld region 2023. The mining district in the triangle between Eisleben, Sandersleben was up until recently a place of hard work down in the mines and in the foundries. Now the region is seeking new added values and virtues. It is said that mining shapes people in a special way. Today, 30 years after the abrupt end, what about the afterlife and survival of the old values? What new values have been created?
Werkleitz has invited ten internationally working artists for the 2023 My Precious festival. With eight new works created specifically for the festival and two works adapted to the local conditions, they respond to the complex mélange of questions that arise when looking at the Mansfeld region today. A film room curated by Florian Wüst in the Inspektorhaus, as well as a dense program of artist talks, guided thematic walks, workshops for children, concerts, readings, and much more complete the festival offerings. Lena Reisner, whose exhibition Fossil experience could be seen in Berlin in 2022, was invited as a free curatorial researcher and came back with stories about women in the mines from Saint Barbara to actual workers.
The participating artists were, in alphabetical order: Ana Alenso, Mabe Bethônico, Karsten Bott, Viktor Brim, Felicitas Fäßler, Juliane Henrich, Stephanie Kiwitt, Barbara Marcel, Agnieszka Polska, and Egill Sæbjörnsson.
Mabe Bethonico, The Collective Dig. A Papertheatre on the Myths of Extraction, 2023Barbara Marcel, Golden Tone, 2018-21Felicitas Fässler, Outcrop, 2023Karsten Bott, One Of Each – Kahlenberg/Bott, 2023Agnieska Polska, The Demon’s Brain, 2018
Ana Alenso, Glück auf!, 2023Juliane Henrich, Dendrites, 2023Stephanie Kiwitt, S. Anders leben, 2023“Mein Schatz Kiste”/mediation station about women in the mines, realized in cooperation with Lena ReisnerVictor Brim, the cavity inside, 2023
Das Schwerpunktwochenende zum Erdöl als einer Substanz, die wie keine andere die Wirklichkeiten dieses Planeten durchdringt und beeinflusst, begleitet die Produktionen BLACK FLAME und ÖL! Es fand statt vom 23. bis 26. Februar 2023 am Volkstheater Wien.
»The satellite image above shows the Port of Rotterdam, the biggest harbor in Europe. At Maasvlakte 2, an artificial island just off the coastline, the world’s largest tankers are able to dock. Around 100 million tons of crude oil reach Rotterdam each year, half of which are processed on-site in five petrochemical refineries, including Europe’s largest, the Shell refinery at Pernis«. (link to the English essay here)(link zum deutschen Text hier)
Wie sicher ist unsere Energieversorgung – aktuell, vor allem aber nach der Energiewende, deren Dringlichkeit ein weiterer Hitzesommer eindrucksvoll unterstrichen hat? Energie ist nicht abstrakt, das ist mehr denn je klar. Sie ist in stoffliche und geografische Netzwerke eingebunden. Welche Stoffe brauchen wir für unseren Alltag, die Industrie, unseren Wohlstand? Wie sind diese Ressourcen in der Welt verteilt? Zu welchen geopolitischen und ökologischen Kosten leben wir aktuell? Und wie wollen wir in Zukunft leben?
Chemie steht dabei doppelt im Fokus. Als großer Verbraucher zahlreicher und oft problematischer Ressourcen, aber auch als erprobtes Mittel, sich über Innovation aus Abhängigkeiten zu lösen.
Der Forschung zur Katalyse kommt eine Schlüsselrolle zu; sowohl für postfossile Energiesysteme wie für alle anderen, globalen Stoffkreisläufe. Welche Ansätze verfolgt UniSysCat hier?
Es gibt Erdöl in Österreich? Aber ja! Im Wiener Becken und in Oberösterreich wird seit den 1930ern Erdöl und Erdgas gefördert. Raffinerien und Öltanks stehen seit dem ausgehenden 19. Jahrhundert an den Ufern der Donau. Der Rohstoff Öl verknüpft auf schillernde Weise die lokale Geografie und die nationale Geschichte der Alpenrepublik mit deren naturgeschichtlichen Grundlagen und mit den globalen Weltläuften des 19., 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts.
Um 1900 ist das Habsburgerreich mit seinen galizischen (heute ukrainischen) Ölfeldern Förderland Nummer drei nach den USA und Russland. Öl aus dem Wiener Becken treibt die NS Kriegsmaschine an. Bis 1963 fließen dann Millionen Tonnen Öl als inoffizielle Reparationen in die Sowjetunion. Parallel zum neutralen Österreich wird die ÖMV als neutraler Öl-Konzern konzipiert. 1965 Wien wird OPEC-Stadt, seit 1968 strömt Sowjetisches Erdgas über Baumgarten in den Westen. Die Montanuniverstät Leoben ist eine der wichtigsten Petroleum-Lehrstätten Europas. Zwar ist die OMV ein internationaler Konzern mit Verflechtungen insbesondere nach Russland, aber noch immer stammen ca. 10 Prozent des Inlandsverbrauchs an Öl und 15 Prozent an Erdgas aus heimischen Quellen.
Die Pfade des Erdöls aus und nach Österreich situieren das Land auf sehr spezifische Weise in der Natur- in der Kultur- und in der politischen Geschichte der Moderne und des Anthropozäns. Öl fungiert als besonderes Reflexionsmedium: Im Lokalen wird das Globale, im Globalen wird das Lokale anders wahrnehmbar. Mit Bild- Video- und Ton-Material aus unterschiedlichen Konstellationen (Galizien, NS, OPEC) gestaltet ‚Beauty of Oil‘ eine Revue Petro Noir in Linz.
Die Petro Revue Linz montiert Unterhaltung und Propaganda, Videoschnipsel und Musik mit geowissenschaftlichen Materialien und historischen Dokumenten. Sie bilden den Rahmen für Gespräche. Unsere Gäste und Gesprächspartner_innen sind der österreichisch-französische Historiker Jérôme Segal und die Petroleumingenieurin und Doktorandin der Montan-Universität Leoben Bianca Brandstätter.
Die Tagung wird über Zoom gestreamt. Über diesen Link kann man sich zur Teilnahme anmelden.
“We live in turbulent times, and the role of petroleum is at the heart of global and local political debate about how we should rebuild after COVID-19 and address our worsening crises of climate and international stability. A transition to a world without oil as its primary source of fuel and energy is vital if we are to reach the climate targets set by the Paris Agreement, but the pathway, feasibility, and timing of such an unprecedented transition is still hotly debated. We know that oil will come to an end, but whether its closing date is set by emptied reservoirs, greener alternatives, or political decisions, is still to be determined. Recognizing that the “age of oil” is being challenged, petrocultures2022 invites scholars and artists, journalists and activists, politicians and business actors to engage critically in the debate and the transition to alternatives. The conference will be held at the Norwegian Petroleum Museum and a nearby conference venue in Stavanger, the energy capital of Norway.“
We spent 4 days and nights at the first physical meeting of the international Petrocultures researcher crowd since Glasgow 2018. It took place in the conference rooms of the Oljemuseum and on a historical ship, the MS Sandness, which used to commute between Bergen and Stavanger. About 300 people attended the conference. The program was packed, and often the conference rooms – among them the lovely breakfast room and second class salon on the boat – were so, too. Keynote speeches were given on thursday, friday and saturday morning at Stavangeren, a former church assembly room in the old city of Stavanger.
