Kooperation mit dem Studentenwerk Oldenburg

During the orientation week (Monday October 15 to Friday October 19, 2012), hungry freshmen and seasoned Mensa guests can expect a vegan dish every day - the Discrete Farms plate. In cooperation between the Studentenwerk Oldenburg and the Edith Russ House for Media Art, art and Mensa operations will be brought together. The Studentenwerk, which has been committed to expanding the vegetarian and vegan offerings of the Mensa for years, will also show videos from the factory≠farm during orientation week.

The cooperation is part of the supporting program of the solo exhibition Discrete Farms. The meat has to come from somewhere by the Cologne artist duo Ute Hörner and Mathias Antlfinger at the Edith Russ House for Media Art. Tension-laden themes such as the criticism of factory farming combine to form an engaged position of current media art. With their multifaceted, humorous installation factory≠farm, Hörner/ Antlfinger artistically confront the gigantic fattening facilities in the Oldenburg area and convey this current, political topic to the audience with unexpected, ironic and yet clearly positioning works. Our romanticized image of the farm is juxtaposed with the reality of the automated meat production industry.

The two films Hasen -sich ein Bild machen, etwas zu Ende denken, which can be seen between October 15 and 19 in the Mensa on the Uhlhornsweg campus, document the conversations of two rabbit puppets. As alter egos of the artist couple, they are engaging mediators for the audience when they tell of their experiences - of a bicycle tour through the Oldenburg countryside, along a fattening house route published by Attac, of the fear of the animals they see in the facilities, as well as of the fear of the farmer who lies in wait for them with a shotgun. Finally, they indulge in wild fantasies about future technological alternatives to meat production, because "the meat has to come from somewhere."

The artists act behind the puppets like ventriloquists in black camouflage suits. Their guerrilla outfits refer on the one hand to terrorists conveying a message of confession, and on the other hand to images of liberation actions by autonomous animal rights activists. The masking also stands for the depersonalization within the automated, meat-producing industry, in which the farmer no longer knows each animal by name. The dialogues of the rabbits invite us to think along with them, to disagree sometimes - after all, there is a consensus that we don't always have to take rabbits seriously - and to discuss further.

In this cooperation with the Studentenwerk, the artistic practice, which is also understood in an activist way, wants one thing above all: to taste good to you!
You are also cordially invited to the exhibition Discrete Farms. The meat has to come from somewhere, until November 25 at the Edith Russ House for Media Art.