Sven Windszus: Holy Shit

Sven Windszus is a Berlin-based digital, mixed media, and installation artist who "loves to make things move". With his participatory installations, he turns viewers into active participants of his works by inviting them to interact with the individual worlds he creates through a provocative call-to-action.

“HOLY SHIT” at BBA Gallery marks Windszus’ debut as an artist and is compiled of a diverse collection of earlier as well as recent works, which feature politically and socially relevant themes surrounding religion, war, the demographic challenges facing our society and the hypocrisies of the digital age. Far from a moral lecture, and through the integration of interactive concepts and everyday digital products, Windszus' installations aim to encourage viewers to participate, to try things out and to critically reflect on their own actions.

Originally from Hildesheim, Windszus is based in Berlin; his German origins significantly influence the themes and message he chooses to convey through his artworks. Having spent much of his working life in the commercial art fields, BBA, along with an international expert jury, discovered his awe-inspiring talent and artistic vision at last year’s BBA Artist Prize. As his debut solo show, HOLY SHIT constitutes a turning-point in Windszus’ career, BBA Gallery is thrilled to host this impressive series of installations.

“HOLY SHIT” consists of five interactive installations that could not be more diverse in terms of political or social commentary and technical implementation, and yet all resemble each other in their provocative invitation to form an opinion. A confession booth that literally confronts us with the 'sins' of our everyday lives; an actual dog skeleton encased in gold that blurs the boundaries between creation and artificial intelligence; a confined space that rapidly fills with water and human heads threatening to drown when a pump is activated - Windszus' creativity and critical observations know no bounds. Aesthetically, the artist often convinces with a contrasting approach: he combines old vintage objects with the latest digital technology.

While some of his installations have already been exhibited, such as “Lebensraum, living space” with which he won the BBA Artist prize 2021, he has completed some of his work exclusively for his current exhibition. In particular, his installation "24/7", which examines the phenomena of war, suffering and destruction, is especially awakening in light of the current events in Ukraine and illuminates the "banal madness and contradiction" of eternal bloodshed from an unexpected perspective. The viewer looks into a weapons case, which is equipped with a digital animation which raises the question of their own inertia.