Carlos Bunga: Mind Awake, Body Asleep – An Exhibition at Secession Exploring Consciousness

This exhibition by Carlos Bunga explores the enigmatic relationship between body and mind, particularly as experienced during sleep. The artist utilizes architectural interventions and material explorations to create spaces that function as passages between different states of consciousness, reflecting on themes of fragility, instability, and the impact of built environments on human existence.

Carlos Bunga's exhibition 'Mind awake, body asleep' delves into the complex interplay between the physical body and the mind, drawing inspiration from the state of sleep where these two aspects seem to operate independently. Bunga, who initially studied painting but expanded his practice to conceptual, performative, and installation strategies, uses his work to highlight the inherent ephemerality and instability of existence. He often bases his site-specific installations on the architecture of the exhibition space, deconstructing or replicating elements to create moments of unease and reflection. The exhibition in the Secession is conceived as a series of spaces that navigate different states of consciousness. Each of the four rooms carries its own atmosphere, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in the sensory qualities of the materials, surfaces, and smells. Bunga's interventions include cardboard constructions that interact with the architecture, glazed niches that play on the separation between artwork and viewer, and fragmented forms that require the viewer's imagination to be completed. An installation featuring a metal bed alludes to dystopian associations, with the exhibition title itself reflecting on the pandemic-induced societal shifts, physical stillness, and the asymmetry between mental and physical activity. Bunga's artistic vocabulary consistently engages with themes of the nomadic, migration, and displacement, viewing architecture as a signifier of social status and a determinant of human life. His materials, often cardboard, felt, and silk, are used to create transient structures that emphasize the fluidity of life and the constant process of change. The exhibition culminates in a walkable floor painting, literally placing visitors within the artwork and emphasizing the embodied experience of art. This work also references Bunga's earlier practice of exposing paintings to the elements, embracing the process of decay and transformation as integral to the artwork.

Information about tickets can be found via a link to the Secession's shop. General opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM to 6 PM. The exhibition is located within the Secession building at Friedrichstraße 12, 1010 Vienna. Admission details are typically managed through the museum's ticketing system linked on the site.