instinct #16
LA PART MAUDITE _ the accursed share
Queer Perspectives on Excess and Expenditure
Group exhibition
Opening September 12th - 18:00
Viewing 12th - 22st 2024
only Friday Saturday Sunday
14:00 to 18:00
Program
Thursday 12 Sept - 18:00
Opening
Friday 13 Sept - 16:30 – 18:30
Grant Writing Seminar
How to write a application
Friday 20 Sept - 15:00 – 17:00
Queer Art Bridge Berlin
Networking Evening
Saturday 21 Sep - 16:30 – 18:30
Words of Excess
Queer Voices in Literature
Saturday 21 Sep - 19:30 – 22:00
Instinct #16 | Film screening
a selection of 6 short films
Sunday 22 Sept - 17:00
Performance Saint Torrente
Finissage
°° all events are free of charge
La Part maudite (The Accursed Share), written by French philosopher Georges Bataille in the late 1940s, looks at how excess and spending affect society and the economy. Bataille introduces the idea of a "general economy," which considers all energy flows in society, rather than just focusing on production, accumulation and saving.
Bataille argues that extra energy or resources – '' La Part maudite" – can't always be used productively. Instead, this surplus needs to be spent or used up to keep things balanced. This can lead to practices of excess, extravagant events, or even destructive activities like war.
This exhibition explores La Part maudite through the lens of queer identities and experiences, examining how themes of eroticism, excess, waste, rituals and power intersect with queer life and culture.
Eroticism, Desire and Taboos
Bataille connects his economic ideas to his thoughts on desire and sexuality. He sees breaking taboos and sexual excess as ways to use up extra energy in society. This fits into his broader philosophy that humans naturally push boundaries and go to extremes.
Power and Identity
In queer communities, excess can be a way to resist unfair treatment and gain power. Queer people challenge society's usual expectations, take back spaces for themselves, and create new forms of social and political influence. This helps build stronger, more resilient communities.
Celebrations and Rituals
Rituals are super important in queer culture. These can be celebrations of identity, acts of resistance, parties, or even times of mourning. They give people a chance to come together, use up energy as a group, strengthen bonds, claim public spaces, and turn excess into powerful art and activism.
The "Accursed Share" Today
How does Bataille's idea of excess apply to modern queer life? Are there still spaces free from commercialization? Does celebrating taboos risk fetishizing marginalized groups?
Through these questions, the queer community challenges norms and offers fresh viewpoints, pushing society to reconsider established ideas about identity, relationships, and personal expression.
°° with (alphabetic)
Anh Maka
Juan Betancurth
Javier Alejandro Cerrada
Anastasiia Hurska
Milovan Destil Markovic
Eda Phanlert Sriprom
Catie Rutledge
Michael Sayles
Manuel Solano
Maria Wasko
Vincent Wechselberger
Hyeonkyeong You
°° films
Ivan Boljat
Kilian Feusi
Kinkybanana
Jessica Meier
SJ Rahatoka
Sujanth Ravichandra
Gio Ventura
Gustavo Vinagre
°° reading
Marco Astolfi
Alexander Cheves
Tomás Cohen
Mátyás Dunajcsik
Marwan Kaabour
Alan Lessik
Nikolaj Tange Lange
Oscar Perdomo
°°performance
Saint Torrente
The Accursed Share: An Essay on General Economy (French: La Part maudite) is a 1949 book about political economy by the French intellectual Georges Bataille, in which the author presents a new economic theory which he calls "general economy".