Output details

The Brotherhood Of Subterranea

Judd curated (by invitation) Brotherhood of Subterranea at Kunstbunker, Nuremburg between 18th April and 15th May 2008. The exhibition included work by Jonathan Baldock, Marcus Coates, David Raymond Conroy, Kaye Donachie, Alistair Frost, Brian Griffiths, Anne Hardy, Alex Hartley, Paul Johnson, Meiro Koizumi, Jim Shaw, Mark Titchner, Francis Upritchard.

The exhibition continued Judd’s exploration of belief, focusing on marginalised, occult groups and esoteric belief systems, such as witchcraft, shamanism and spiritualism through a staged manifestation of a group of ‘practitioners’ who straddle the boundary between artists and members of a fictional cult. The objective of the exhibition was to construct an underground movement (in both senses) that suggested a secret society, the members of which expressed their allegiance through the fabrication of images and artifacts with qualities that seem coded and cryptic. The exhibition also examined the potential ‘power’ of a curatorial premise to induce belief, or suspend disbelief; artwork could become artifact within the curatorial framework and its original meaning could be manipulated by the exhibition.

The Kunstbunker is a former Second World War bunker in Nuremberg, converted into a well respected institution, funded by local government, that stages international exhibitions by artists including John Smith, On Kawara, Erwin Wurm, Derek Jarman. Brotherhood of Subterranea led to a series of work that used actors to simulate the ritual activities of occult groups, starting with Observance at the Barbican Art Gallery in 2009 (output 2).

Articles / features / reviews: Alles eine Glaubensfrage, Donnerstag, 17 April (2008). Was führt die Bruderschaft im Schilde?, Nurnberger Zeitung, 17 April (2008. Bruderschaft aus Pappmaché, Abendzeitung, 18 April 2008.