Queer Ecology. Mika Rottenberg

27 September 2025 to 22 February 2026

Under the title ‘Queer Ecology’, the latest works by Argentinian-Israeli artist Mika Rottenberg (*1976 in Buenos Aires) are at the centre of this exhibition. The works deal with the role of humans in the constantly growing system of global consumption. They show the absurdity of the excessive, capitalist production of goods and the precarious working conditions, especially of women, in a humorous, sometimes biting and sarcastic way.

Filmstill: Mika Rottenberg, Cosmic Generator (Loaded #3), 2017/2018

With more than 30 works - sculptures, videos, walk-in installations, interactive works and her first feature film ‘REMOTE’ (2022) - it is to date the most comprehensive international presentation of the artist's work of the last two decades. The communicative centrepiece of the exhibition, conceived by the artist especially for the Lehmbruck Museum, is formed by the new sculptures ‘Lampshares’ made of organic materials and recycled plastic, with which she is realising a production cycle in her studio for the first time. The exhibition unfolds in the form of a network with the themes of ‘labour’, ‘body’ and ‘future’. It establishes links to the main works ‘NoNoseKnows’ (2015), ‘Cosmic Generator’ (2017) and ‘Cheese’ (2008). In this exhibition, the Lehmbruck Museum is initiating a collaboration with the model project ‘Urban Zero’, which is making an ambitious attempt to transform the Duisburg-Ruhrort district in an environmentally neutral way. With its theme, the exhibition is dedicated to an existential question of our time and deliberately leaves the space of the museum.

The title ‘Queer Ecology’ describes the entanglement between humans, technology and the environment and makes processes of transformation and fluidity tangible. ‘Queer Ecology’ is a way to dissolve the binary concepts of humanity and nature and to think together: How must our thinking about the world and matter change in order to escape the consequences of capitalism and economic disproportions?

With the circular economy of the ‘Lampshares’ and the outreach programme, the museum is initiating a model project that is itself geared towards sustainability. The aim of the project is to raise awareness and judgement of sustainability and ecological issues. In this context, Rottenberg's works act as an active catalyst for change processes, so that resources can be rethought and artistic processes can be designed sustainably.

The exhibition is supported by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation) and the Sparkasse Duisburg.