Real Energy World / NIGER DELTA: Konzert 4.10.2009

Whether the oil price rises or falls, it always leads to lively discussions –

but the underlying production conditions are of no interest to us. The only brief headlines are when foreigners are adducted by militant rebels in Africa, for example, then TV stations broadcast images of giant oil slicks, burning natural gas, billows of smoke, pipelines running right through the middle of villages, with their totally destitute population.

The exhibitions and discussions during the “Real Energy World” programme examine the representation of disasters by looking at the example of the ecological, social and humanitarian disaster caused by oil production in the Niger Delta – while the participating companies here in the West cultivate their clean image and advertise their products emphasising social responsibility and environmental sustainability.

Only few journalists dare travel to this hotspot to take pictures of everyday life: Pictures that are intended to shake up, but which are also received by the art world thanks to their formal and aesthetic qualities. “Real Energy World” examines various angles and patterns of reception with the aid of journalistic photographs and artistic works from the region.

Musikerin / Musiker: Thomas Rottleuthner
Musikerin / Musiker: Eva Ursprung