Veronika Veit

Is everything connected to everything else or does coincidence rule? Can we even begin to control the overcomplexity of our globalized world and our lives?
With large installations and art in public space, Veronika Veit stage-sets these questions in scenarios that seem almost apocalyptic. When looked at more closely, however, one sees that they are more pertinent to current events than would seem at first sight.
In 2000, Veronika...

Is everything connected to everything else or does coincidence rule? Can we even begin to control the overcomplexity of our globalized world and our lives?
With large installations and art in public space, Veronika Veit stage-sets these questions in scenarios that seem almost apocalyptic. When looked at more closely, however, one sees that they are more pertinent to current events than would seem at first sight.
In 2000, Veronika Veit had already exhibited works dealing with the topic of ‘supposed control’ in the Haus der Kunst in Munich. She installed gear levers and buttons of a ‘stimulating character’ which could only fictionally set something in motion. The three works exhibited here reflect, on the one hand, our desire for control and, on the other, pose the question of coincidence and loss of control.
In the installation, “Coincidence and Opportunity”, cupboards have been linked to each other with encroaching piping and other objects. They house monitors with animated films and small sculptures. Somehow, everything seems to connect with everything else even if it is not quite clear how. Like a picture puzzle, every object poses riddles and opens up new references with each new viewing. The video work “Better Times” also plays with the delusion that one can have everything under control. In a site trailer, a video installation can be seen in which two people appear to be fleeing from a possible disaster. In front of an enormous control panel simulating controllability, they are sitting it out. This subject was inspired by the ‘prepper’ or survivalist, movement whose members seek to protect themselves from the unpredictable such as natural catastrophes and wars by stockpiling food and building panic rooms.
“Bunker” allows a glimpse through the window into the rigidly structured daily life of a family living in isolation. It appears that only by rigidly regulated behaviour and extreme hygiene is it possible for the mother to maintain control. However, an intruder in the shape of a dog stands as a metaphor for the imagination and mental world of the children which repudiate control.
With an acutely critical eye, Veronika Veit looks at our relationships to everyday objects and fellow human beings. With their multifarious and historical relational levels, their intelligent humour, and her precise observation of human behaviour, her works are unique.

Angelika Otto