Special exhibition: Museum der Kulturen (Museum of Cultures) in Basel, Switzerland BASEL, Switzerland

Basel (ots) - Semiwild - or unlimited desire

An artistic reflection on the permanent exhibition "Expeditions"

28 March 2014 to 7 September 2014

Objects have the power to satisfy all kinds of desires. What
differences can we find between consumer goods, luxury goods and
artistic creations that have been produced under different economic
conditions and with different intentions? How does their meaning
change when they are taken out of their original context and used for
purposes for which they were not designed? The artist Ania Soliman
challenges museum conventions and explores the concepts of
"possession" and "desire" in an unconventional way.

In the special exhibition "Semiwild - or unlimited desire", the
artist Ania Soliman delves into the meaning of artefacts. Her
starting point is the permanent exhibition "Expeditions", which
displays collections of objects acquired for scientific purposes from
different eras. In six areas, the artist examines why, how and where
which objects are present and what their presence says about the
human desire for objects. What kinds of desires are embodied in
objects? How do these types of desire in objects for a consumer
market differ from those in objects in other economic systems? The
different ways in which Ania Soliman arranges and confronts artefacts
from the museum's collections with her own works of art creates an
installation that on the one hand challenges museum conventions and
at the same time explores the concepts of "possession" and "desire"
in unexpected fashion. The juxtaposition and arrangement of objects
from the museum with the artist's images and videos produces a
general view of monetary systems and their effects on work, the flow
of commodities and product creation - and our desire for objects. The
artist takes visitors on an unexpected journey of exploration that
will allow them to discover a great deal about possession and desire.

Picture is available via epa european pressphoto agency (
http://www.epa.eu/ ) and can be downloaded free of charge from:
http://www.presseportal.ch/de/pm/100050324/keygroup=bild

For further information, please contact:
Pierre-Alain Jeker Museum der Kulturen Basel
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Münsterplatz 20
4001 Basel, Switzerland

T +41(0)61-266-56-34
pierre-alain.jeker@bs.ch