5 more minutes

The alarm buzzes, making a high-pitched sound that pierces into my brain. It brutally took me out of my soft floating in a fuzzy dream world, submerged in a state of pure calm. Now that I open my eyes and see the dark room around me blurred out, with long shadows lurking around me, I notice it cannot be morning yet. I must have dreamt the alarm and its annoying sound. Time seems to have diluted, liquefying into a chaotic matter. My heart starts beating uncontrollably, cold sweat runs down my spine. Confusion and panic take over, I want to move but I cannot, my limbs are heavy as lead. I close my eyes tightly, postponing the moment when I have to get up and face this uncomfortable reality, saying to myself “5 more minutes”… Fear has been accompanying us all for the past couple of years, creeping into our minds and daily lives. Recently, it has culminated into an all-encompassing sentiment which devours us day and night, haunting our dreams and our realities. 5 more minutes represents an attempt to understand this continuous state of anguish from the perspective of eight artists. Through their works they will engage with different aspects related to an uncertain state, metaphorically speaking those five minutes at the threshold between being asleep (floating in a utopic dream) and being awake (in a deeply unpleasant actuality). Both, the inner and the outer exhibition spaces are activated and transformed in a sensorial experience, meant to help visitors reach the necessarily awareness for freeing themselves from the freeze response caused by fear. Only gaining control over our thoughts and feelings will lead us to finding sustainable solutions for an uncertain future. Rosario Aninat (*1993, Chile) creates a geometrical structure that interacts with the pavilion’s rigorous architecture, adding an extra layer to the already existing feeling of confinement. Gabbi Cattani’s (*1990, Italy) installation combines archetypal notions of death and time, love and pleasure. The placement of mysterious objects and inanimate bodies in honey recalls the process of mellification, a legendary method of embalming bodies in honey for creating a healing substance. Jiyoon Chung (*1990, Korea) addresses in her floor installation the vicious circle substance abuse and anxiety often create together, leading to a never-ending psychical suffering. In her two works, Hortensia Mi Kafchin (*1986, Romania) reflects on two different types of fears: the crippling anxiety one feels when their bodies or sexual orientation don’t fit into societal norms, leading to contemptuous stares marked by prejudice, as well as the dark terror of war and the atrocities associated with it. Using a surrealist visual language and taking inspiration from dreams, her own mythologies and Outsider Art, Jiwon Lee (*1993, USA) describes in her painting the feverish scene of a nightmare melting into reality. Through her intervention involving organic elements, Anna Pezzoli (*1995, Italy) seeks to represent the choice to isolate from the outer world, into a self-constructed translucent safe space, a choice that finds its roots in panic and mistrust towards humanity. Referencing the architecture of public saunas, James Sturkey (*1991,UK) creates a site-specific installation inspired by theatrical scenic painting, that subverts the idea of an urban haven protected from external threats. The Bürgergarten outside, conceived as a space of relaxation and enjoyment, is being disquieted by Richard Najorka’s (*1997, Germany) sound piece recalling a lucid dream and the attempt to pull oneself out of such an unpleasant sensation.