The title of the exhibition has been borrowed from the novel by Emily Brontë, which describes feelings as inescapable forces of nature. The exhibition juxtaposes current works from the fields of painting and electronic images.
In a similar manner to the group exhibition on identity (The Border is Open ..., 2016), the exhibition on the theme of emotion presents the approaches adopted by artists from Upper Bavaria, Germany and Europe. Artists' realisations of different aspects of this year's theme are presented through various artistic media. Looking at art history as a type of back-and-forth, alternately dominated by reason and feelings, what kind of age are we living in today? Does reason or emotion predominate? Breathtaking technological developments seemed to be heralding an age of natural laws, objectivity, and rational decisions, supported by the Internet, which can be accessed by everyone, and provides everyone with all manner of information – a knowledge society.
But things seem to have gone in a very different direction: In an age of fake news, it is becoming increasingly difficult to verify facts or convince people with the truth. Overwhelmed by the flood of information, we are allowing ourselves to be influenced by opinion, which is becoming incredibly easy to manipulate as technology spreads into our everyday lives. It is no coincidence that fundamentalist movements in all religions are becoming stronger, that populists are winning over people's hearts, and that we are cutting ourselves off from one another in virtual and real parallel worlds. The task of art has always been to question supposed truths, to draw people's attention to existentially challenging situations, to stimulate the senses in order to raise people’s awareness. In this new, emotional world, artists are seeking ways to depict, express, and reflect the storm of emotions.
Link to exhibition