A sports car with cat-like eyes, a poodle bouncing on a trampoline, and a carnivalesque parade of giraffes—German artist Raphaela Vogel (Nuremberg, 1988) creates unexpected connections in her work. Her large-scale installations merge sculpture, painting, experimental videos, and music into puzzling and disorienting visuals, often casting herself and her dog in leading roles.

KRAAAN—with three “A”s, referencing both the Dutch word kraan and the German Kran (crane)—presents a survey of Vogel’s work, from her early film experiments to her most recent installations. The skeletal framework of a crane exemplifies her fascination with the concept of hubris, the Greek term for humanity’s misplaced pride in challenging the gods.

Vogel raises thought-provoking questions about the relationships between humans, animals, and machines, the privileges of artists, and the role of women in a male-dominated (art) world. Rather than providing answers, she weaves these questions together in unexpected and humorous ways. In accompanying videos and music, she guides viewers like a contemporary oracle, sowing doubt about established ideas and entrenched patterns.

Indyvideo was responsible for the technical production and took care of all audiovisual needs of the exhibition, which included, among other things, video works and projections.

Photos by Eddo Hartmann and Bram Vreugdenhil