The relationship between physical and mental experiences; physical perception and comprehension; and their influence on what penetrates through to our brains and vice versa: these are all issues that appeal to Joachim Koester. Certain areas of the brain are stimulated, while by contrast others are powered down. Which parts of our brain do we use? Can new experiences, can a work of art, produce new stimuli for areas of the brain, but also parts of the body, that are seldom activated?

This transgression of different kinds of thresholds is presented in the songs of (almost) extinct birds as well as in a planetary system to which objects of various origins, genus and eras are assigned. The new connections that emerge from this are both associative and inspire their own links. The subjective perception and consciousness of the visitors are as central as those of the works’ protagonists and of the artist himself. Animals, stones and plants interact with planets to create a constellation inspired by the mnemonic technique of the memory palace. Alternative connections are formed, as well as systems of categorisation; an art exhibition is transformed into an alternative memory palace. A step forward leads back to a new universe, as if in an infinitely rotating spiral—The way out is the way in.

For more information, please visit the Kunsthalle Mainz website.