Elina Brotherus (*1972 in Helsinki) is internationally known for her self-portraits. And the fact is that she herself may be seen in almost all of her photographic and video works. These include series resembling diaries, photographed landscapes and situational mood-pictures. The exhibition at the Weserburg directs attention to more recent works and groups of works created since 2016. Here the Finnish artist appropriates various contemporary concepts of art and integrates them into her own unmistakeable aesthetic. She thereby follows Arthur Køpcke’s motto: ‘People ask: Why? I ask: Why not?’

The exhibition brings together more than 190 works from different eras and contexts and addresses both contentual and formal issues. Seven thematic areas formulate artistic approaches to depicting the human being, develop a current picture of Germany, engage in multifaceted play with everyday life or the medium of the book, and investigate minimalist tendencies, photographic procedures or aesthetic contradiction. And with Mel Chin an artist’s bar even makes an appearance.

Internationally, numerous artists have dealt directly or indirectly with olfactory aspects in their artist publications. This was done on the one hand through a conceptual examination and on the other hand by dealing with materials that smell.

In film, painting, sculpture, photography, audio works or olfactory projects, Luca Vitone's work formulates questions about roots and migration, the longing for home and the forms of representation of places. The exhibition, which focuses on the large, olfactory work Imperium, is the first solo exhibition by the artist in a German museum.