In the exhibition project The Uncanny renowned American artist Mike Kelley acts as curator. In a highly original manner, uncanny figurative representations are related to each other in a sweeping historical panorama, ranging from ancient Egyptian grave furnishings to works created by contemporaries such as Christo, Paul McCarthy, Tony Oursler, etc. The exhibition venue, the MUMOK, plays a central role in this as Mike Kelley's analysis of the uncanny includes several references to Vienna's cultural heritage.

It is no coincidence that the title of Kelley's projects alludes to a famous protagonist of fin de siècle Vienna-Sigmund Freud and his notion of the uncanny. The "uncanny", as described by Freud, is "a hidden, familiar thing that has undergone repression and then emerged from it". It is an irritating emotion filling us with anxiety-what used to be well-known becomes terrifying. Kelley's exhibition features representations of people from different eras that have one thing in common-a dark, uncanny "aura".

Kelley carried out this project for the first time for Sonsbeek 93 one decade ago, and his initial inspiration had been his stay in Vienna. It was in this city that Kelley encountered intriguingly stark contrasts and the lingering morbidity of the late 19th century that seemed to persist in an atmosphere of all-pervasive ambiguity and eccentricity. Therefore, Kelley incorporated objects taken from several "uncanny" Viennese locations in the show, including wax specimens of a mental institution and objects from an old amusement park.

In cooperation with Tate Liverpool, the show has been redesigned and is now presented by the MUMOK in its "hometown" Vienna. Among the exhibits on display there are significant works from the MUMOK collection, such as by Christo, John de Andrea, Duane Hanson, Tetsumi Kudo, or Edward Kienholz. The Uncanny is Mike Kelley's first large-scale solo show in Austria and the UK.

Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien
Museumsplatz 1, A - 1070 Vienna
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