HITO STEYERL AT KUNSTMUSEUM BONN, GERMANY

In the ZOOM IN series, Kunstmuseum Bonn spotlights individual artists from its collection. For each presentation, the artists occupy an entire gallery space.

As an opening highlight, the museum presents Hito Steyerl’s work Animal Spirits. The immersive installation evokes a mysterious, alien planet or a cave-like environment. Projections of cave paintings adorn the walls, while illuminated glass vessels containing plants hang from the ceiling like celestial bodies. Using artificial intelligence, the artist has brought historical cave paintings to life. Nature and technology merge into a dense field of sensory impressions, composed of rhythmic sounds and animal imagery.

At the centre of the installation is a film entitled Animal Spirits – a compilation of reality TV, documentary and animation. In it, the artist explores various social developments, including the rise of cryptocurrencies, the significance of culture during pandemics, and the distinctive features of different agricultural systems.

The term ‘animal spirits’ was coined by the British economist John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946). In his 1936 book, he described the influence of emotions such as greed and fear on economic dynamics. Steyerl transposes this theory to the present day in her film: for instance, the shepherd and activist Nel warns of the spread of wolves, which here serve as a metaphor for the brutal competition of the free market.

Hito Steyerl (born in Munich in 1966; lives and works in Berlin and Munich) is regarded as one of the most influential contemporary artists. Her reflections on media theory have provided important impetus for current debates, while her work offers a critical examination of ongoing technological advance and the power structures that shape contemporary society.