SEMESTER9 PRESENTS GROUP EXHIBITION BLOODSPORT: NAVIGATING OUR SUBCONSCIOUS ATTRACTION TO CRUELTY IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Cover artist article: DAE UK KIM – ELEKTRA

With Semester 9 as its host, the former horse-stable at Mauritskade 55C houses an international selection of emerging artists from Amsterdam, London, Vienna and Gent. The works present various ways of grappling with the fragility of biological creatures in an age where technology could make one feel insulated from violence.

In today’s world, we are bombarded with images of violence and gore, from news broadcasts to social media. But why do we find these images so compelling? Is it a morbid curiosity, a fascination with the limits of human endurance, or something deeper and more primal?

Left: MAX OTIS KING – INSTANT SUNBURN, Right: TON DAMEN – TAKE, EAT; THIS IS MY BODY

The works of Bianca Hlywa, Dae Uk Kim, Doron Beuns, Harry Hugo Little, Ilse Kind, Lily Bloom, Maggie Dunlap, Max Otis King, Melle Nieling, Ton Damen, Thieu Kessels, and Vera Kersting provide a space for critical engagement. They grapple with a subject that is often overlooked or dismissed as simply part of the internet’s sensationalism or shock value. By curating this group of artists, Doron Beuns & Isabelle van Manen facilitate a nuanced conversation around the complex relationship between violence, media, and digital culture, offering insights into how these themes intersect with broader cultural issues such as trauma and identity. A logical and exhilarating continuation of their previous curatorial effort, where they investigated co-existing with the current state of the internet.