Escalators to:
Big Bang

"So even when it all blows up, there will always be stars and there will always be dark matter: for this is the art world."
— Christiana Spens

This year's graduation exhibition at Kunsthochschule Weissensee titled Escalators to: Big Bang draws from directional wall inscriptions found in a natural history museum, where visitors are guided through complex narratives of time and space by seemingly simple instructions. This progression is structured through signage, wall texts and directional cues, suggesting a linear journey that eventually leads back to the Big Bang.

The idea of reaching the origin of the universe by escalator introduces a subtle contradiction: An escalator is designed to move efficiently in one direction, usually upward, offering a controlled and predictable form of movement. Placed within a narrative about cosmic beginnings, it becomes a useful metaphor for the structures and expectations within the contemporary art system. It suggests a path that appears straightforward, while pointing toward something that is, in fact, complex and difficult to define.

In this context, the notion of an "artistic Big Bang" refers to a moment of transition rather than a single event. It describes a point at which existing forms, ideas, and methods are reconsidered, making space for new approaches to emerge. The graduation exhibition can be understood as such a moment. It marks a shift from the protected environment of the academy to the broader and less predictable conditions of the art world.

Christiana Spens' quote frames this condition with a certain clarity. The "blowing up" of the art world does not imply total rupture or disappearance, but rather an ongoing cycle in which visibility and obscurity coexist. "Stars" can be understood as moments of recognition, attention or success, while "dark matter" points to everything that remains less visible yet structurally essential: the many practices, conditions and forms of labor that sustain the field without necessarily being acknowledged. The quote therefore describes an art world that is not stable, but continuously expanding and reorganizing, shaped by both what can be seen and what cannot. The escalator also points to the role of technological and infrastructural systems in shaping artistic production today. While these systems often aim to streamline processes, they can also introduce new layers of complexity.

In this way, Escalators to: Big Bang reflects on beginnings without assuming a singular or fixed point of origin. Instead, it frames the graduation show as an open moment of departure, shaped by multiple influences and outcomes.

The proposal loosely echoes the 2005 exhibition Big Bang at the Centre Pompidou, which addressed creation and destruction in 20th-century art.