In their multimedia exhibition A DRY MOUTH, Razan Sabbagh, Laura Mahnke, and Remi Alkhiami explore tensions between drought and opulence, desire and fear, helplessness and rage, heart and reason. The artists come from Syria and Germany, two countries whose political situations have been shaped by conflict in very different ways. Democratic structures and values are increasingly under pressure, while hopes for renewal shimmer distantly on the horizon.

As three artists with different backgrounds, they reflect on how to share their lived experiences of contemporary society: How can we listen to and support one another not despite, but because of our various perspectives and biographies? What does solidarity mean? How can spaces for collective action be created? Confronted with ongoing crises, the artists recognize the necessity of critical and conscious engagement with present realities. 

Almost instinctively, the artists answer by weaving water as imagery, as metaphor, or as presence into their works. This unconscious turn toward fluidity becomes a form of resistance — an urge for softness, adaptability, and healing against the exhaustion from dryness. Through these gestures, the artists seek new spaces for tenderness and transformation.

Moving along a semi-fictional runway between criticism, utopia, and yearning, the exhibition questions the selectivity and political dimension of solidarity. Here, embracing the complexities and contradictions of the present sharpens one’s perception.

Moisten my dry tongue with the lushness of tranquility.