Relotion — Scene from the video performance, 2018

Relotion | 2018 | Video-performance, object and flyers

With Relotion*, Akkel questions the concept of revolution and progressivism. The work mimics the backtracking gestures of both current and historical social upheavals, reflecting on the cyclical and often regressive nature of change.

*Relotion is a fictional word coined by Akkel, situated between the notions of revolution, solution, and relation. It reflects both a misunderstanding of and an alienation from these three concepts.

Relotion — Exhibition view, Museum für Fotografie, Berlin, 2018

The work is conceived around the materiality of concrete. Concrete requires 30 days to reach its full hardness, gradually indurating during this period. The video performance takes place only 48 hours after the moulding process: Akkel attempts to demolish a freshly cast concrete block. In this struggle, the material itself becomes a performer, resisting the artist through its ongoing transformation.

Through reproduction techniques using flyers, Akkel invites the audience to recreate the work themselves and to mirror his actions, transforming spectators into participants.

Relotion — Exhibition view, Museum für Fotografie, Berlin, 2018

Relotion — Object, 2018

The work is exhibited as a video performance accompanied by a sculptural object and flyers.

Relotion — Flyer details, 2018 (slide for more images)