DOK Neuland
Changes are a part of nature. In fact, the only guaranteed constant is that ever-present flow, a promise that nothing stays the same. At the same time, there is a critical difference between natural processes and man-driven catastrophes. In this time marked by the climate crisis, the mutual influence of the natural world and the human-made is becoming all too obvious. Nature’s flow grows faster; nature acts unnaturally. We change nature and, in return, nature changes life for us. And it feels like standing atop unsound ground.
This year’s exhibition is rooted in instability and particularly in the chaotic imbalance which defines the present moment. “Landslide” is engaged with flows, both natural and manufactured, and is built upon works engaged with slow departures and whiplash changes. The presented works form a landscape in motion and highlight the emotional zeitgeist: a fear which is defined by natural disasters and unnatural – and often violent – collapse.
In film, we can reconstruct what was destroyed. In VR and expansive media, we can live within it. An immersive medium makes it all the more personal, as though your own body knows something it didn’t go through. This sense of embodiment is implicative and allows audiences to be swept away into a story, into meaning, and into action.
Change is inevitable. At the same time, change can be shaped, for better and for worse. Unnatural disasters, they are shaped by those in power, and affect everyone on this planet, to one degree or another. But the works in this exhibition, they are also shapers of change. They face the current reality with brutal honesty, yet in a manner built upon resilience. They paint a picture of community and of nature’s beauty despite violence and great loss. Of moving forward even as everything is crashing down.
The works that make up “Landslide” are exceedingly different from one another, and yet they share a deep commonality. Whether abstract experiences or biting documentaries, technical experiments or stories that take us across oceans and intoparallel realms, they are all dynamic and beautiful works that bestow a sense of resilience and route-making in the face of shifting realities. They are, simply put, incredibly moving.
– Dana Melaver
In addition to the exhibition, several events are planned to further contextualise the artworks and bring the exhibition space alive. There will be musical activations of “Becoming River”, conversations with some of the DOK Neuland artists, as well as more surprises. Further details can be found here closer to the festival and at the exhibition venue.
DOK Neuland Exhibition takes place at Kohlrabizirkus and is open for all from Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00–18:00. Find the opening times for this year’s two Special Presentations below.
Isobel Knowles and Van Sowerwine, the artists behind "The World Came Flooding In", will lead a public workshop where visitors can create their own miniature.
Wednesday, 28.10, 11:30-13:00
Kohlrabizirkus, An den Tierkliniken 38, 04103 Leipzig
Free admission. Please register in advance at heyman [at] dok-leipzig [dot] de (heyman[at]dok-leipzig[dot]de)
Places for the workshop are limited, and we kindly ask that, if your plans change, you let us know so we can offer your spot to someone else.
DOK Neuland 2025 Aftermovie
DOK Neuland Team 2026
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