On this page you can learn more about the exhibition.

Below you will find questions to think about in the exhibition.

KW Institute for Contemporary Art is a place in Berlin where artists, institutions, and people come together to share ideas, discuss social and political issues, and experience art. We have exhibition halls, apartments, offices, event spaces, and a café, and work with partners around the world.

Emily Wardill has produced Identical for the KW Institute of Contemporary Art. This large work of art is an installation. It is made up of moving pictures, voices, and music.

The artist shows Identical over two screens. Sometimes the images on the screens look the same. Other times they look different. Some of the scenes are from well-known films. These scenes refer to sexual pleasure and physical violence. The sound is a mixture of a choir singing, spoken words and music. It comes from 5 speakers. These hang on pillars in the middle of the room.

Identical is inspired by expanded cinema. This art form began in the 1960s. It was a new way to experience film away from traditional cinema. Expanded cinema was shown in other spaces, for example in the open air, warehouses or art institutions. It was about a different experience. An experience that touched the senses and the feelings of the audience.

Identical looks at many opposites. These are comedy and tragedy, pleasure and violence, young and old, similar and different, hiding and showing and splitting and expanding. The artist wants the audience to notice the difference between hearing and seeing.

You can use these questions as inspiration to engage with the works of Emily Wardill.

– Close your eyes and focus your attention on the sound in the space. What is happening and where?

– Consider the gestures and poses of bodies in the film. How do they represent or conceal emotions of pleasure, fear, anger?

– Is what you hear different from what you see? How does your mood change with the music?

Have fun!