Alex Hanimann: Same But Different: Cat. Villa Merkel Esslingen / Kunstmuseum St. Gallen / Frac Nord-Pas de Calais

With Same But Different, Alex Hanimann presents a time journey through his artistic production. Already the reflective cover is a reference to Nico’s cool, spoken rather than sung song I’ll Be Your Mirror with the Velvet Underground. ‘Iconic images’ is an important theme for the artist, organized here like a loop of images with highly informative texts and visual material from three exhibitions in 2019/20 at Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Villa Merkel Esslingen, and FRAC Grand Large Dunquerque. The raster works from the 1970s are just as much part of the exhibition as the new glossy sculptures from the last five years depicting young people at a slightly larger scale in their typical contemporary outfits (CONVERSATION PIECE). The unifying element is a video journey by bicycle (CATCH OF THE DAY) through Victoria Park, which signifies the utopian aspect. The artist combines the images of his own youth and the portrayal of the child generation with a life motif of movement.