Emmanuel Van der Auwera is participating in "(In)Visibility of Violence", a group exhibition at Kunsthalle Giessen opening on August 22nd, 2025. This show gathers 19 international artists and collectives to reflect on representations of different forms of violence; Van der Auwera is presenting two works which reflects on the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and subsequent conspiracy theories.
Opening: August 22 from 19:00
On view from August 23 - November 2, 2025.
Kunsthalle Giessen
Berliner Pl. 1, 35390 Gießen, Germany
"War, medially omnipresent and seemingly endless, shapes our viewing habits and dominates public perception. In addition to clearly visible violence, such as the brutal destruction of buildings and cultural assets, the sight of civilian casualties, or images of displaced persons and refugees, the exhibition also focuses on the often invisible facets of violence. Structural, psychological, or gender-based violence, particularly against women and minorities, as well as the resulting trauma and emotional suffering, often remain hidden. Ideological and religious hatred, which is passed down through generations and disproportionately affects women, is often invisible or deliberately repressed. Shame and social ostracism often protect the perpetrators, while the consequences for those affected are profound and long-lasting.
(In)Visibility of Violence seeks to explore these unequal power structures and visual regimes that underlie violence: Which social, political, and media mechanisms make violence visible or invisible? How is violence documented, instrumentalized, or censored? What creative and artistic approaches can be used to make violence perceptible? How do artists use strategies such as alienation, censorship, documentation, or spectacularization to depict or conceal violence?
The exhibition is a collaboration with the research center “Transformations of Political Violence” (TraCe) , which began with the dialogue panel “ Representations of Excessive Violence – Between Disturbance and Attraction ” at the Kunsthalle. A journal will be published to accompany the exhibition, produced jointly by KUNSTHALLE GIESSEN and researchers from the TraCe research center."
With: Mansoor Adayfi, Hiba Alansari, Moath Al-Alwi, Sami Al Haj, Lucinda Devlin, Johanna-Maria Fritz, Mohammed el Gharani, Roopa Gogineni, Johannah Herr, Jonas Höschl, Šejla Kamerić, Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif, Rabih Mroué, Kresiah Mukwazhi, Jean Gabriel Périot, Thomson & Craighead, Total Refusal, Helena Uambembe and Emmanuel Van der Auwera
Curated by: Theresa Deichert, Dr. Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann and Dr. Nadia Ismail
Please find more information here.