Fear in the Black Box

In contemporary mass media, fear has a growing tangible presence. But how can we distinguish which represented fears are well grounded, and which are deliberately generated by the media? Through the language of the moving image, the exhibition investigates sources, mechanisms and effects of fear in society.

In migrating a tight selection of experimental films and videos screened at Werkleitz Festival 2010 into the exhibition space, Fear in the Black Box seeks to reflect on the existing discourse on the colonialization of the white cube by “cinema”.The space of the black box – a metaphor for an archive of our collective fears – is dark but not sinister. It invites the audience to take a closer look, to analyze our contemporary condition, to revisit our social, political and existentional fears without the intention of generating them.

Fear in the Black Box forms a collaboration between the Werkleitz Association in Halle (Germany) and the Trafo Gallery.