Jungmann & Riebesam

JUNGMANN: 1800 mm, 75 kg flesh, maximum speed of 20 km/h, two legs, two untrained arms, flexibility and elasticity.

JUNGKLAUS: 2500 mm, 3000 kg steel, maximum speed of 17 km/h, four wheels, highly efficient lifting hydraulics, stability and manoeuvrability.

In a mechanical pas-de-deux, these two different bodies of human and forklift meet. JUNGMANN/JUNGKLAUS negotiates discriminating work experiences made by Jungmann as a queer person in a logistics centre. Therein, the interior cabin serves as a safer space until the hard JUNGKLAUS-forks become soft, lifting JUNGMANN tenderly from the queer-hostile ground. A continuous transformational process until blood and oil coalesce and the intimacy between vulnerable flesh and impenetrable steel challenges our neatly stacked binary thoughts.

Not only does the convention of that what counts as “masculine” get restacked as soon as speech turns to heavy physical work involving machines. It also applies to the heteronormatively marked standards of couple dances that are applied, for example, into a dual categorisation of male and female in ballet.

JUNGMANN/JUNGKLAUS rethinks the (emotional) connection between human and machine and speculates how we could de-masculinise technical objects to finally “queer” (capitalist and patriarchal) systems.

Jungmann & Riebesam – the collective formed around Thaddäus Maria Jungmann & Daniela Riebesam – explore the tensions between human and object in the context of New Materialism in their plays. Since their production THE M-PET during WestOFF in which they examined the ugliness of 50 kilogrammes of glitter confetti, integrated audio description has been part of their artistic practice. Their works combine minimalist concept art with movement, characterised by subtle humour and tender provocation.

Duration: approx. 60 minutes