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Getting Lost in Infinity as the Apocalypse Unravels: “LOST IN FINITY” by Bjørn Melhus

Getting Lost in Infinity as the Apocalypse Unravels: “LOST IN FINITY” by Bjørn Melhus

We live in an age where a state of constant crisis has become the norm. In the shadow of pandemics, wars with high escalation potential, and irreversible climate disasters, while a sense of “game over” prevails on one hand; on the other hand, a mode of “pretending nothing happened” blindly clinging to the routines of daily life reigns.

These two contradictory mindsets defined by philosopher Srečko Horvat as “apocalyptic fetishism” and “fetishist denial” confront media artist Bjørn Melhus’s massive solo exhibition “LOST IN FINITY” taking place at silent green Kulturquartier (Betonhalle) in Berlin. Free to visit between July 17 and August 23, 2026, the exhibition takes the viewer on an uncanny journey through the collective unconscious of the 20th and 21st centuries.

From Religious Imagery to Pop Culture Apocalypses

Melhus transforms Betonhalle’s industrial atmosphere into a giant audio-visual circuit re-orchestrating pieces drawn from his last 35 years of artistic production. Where religious symbols clash with pop culture disaster scenarios and technological “escape” strategies, the exhibition opens a space of questioning that is as tragicomical as it is melancholic.

At the conceptual center of the exhibition lies the video work titled REVELATION (2024), produced during the artist’s residency at the Deutsche Akademie Villa Massimo in Rome and exhibited in Berlin for the first time. Bringing the mystical motifs of the biblical Book of Revelation together with today’s visual codes, the piece constructs a pictorial, spellbinding, and hypnotic narrative. Melhus combines the apocalyptic imagery offered by the ancient city with contemporary threats to create a moving universe of illusion.

A Narrator Without a Voice of Their Own: Melhus’s Artistic Language

The most original approach Bjørn Melhus has developed over his 30-plus years of practice is that he never uses his own voice. The artist constructs vocal samples gathered from Hollywood films, television series, and YouTube videos into rhythmic collages.

Throughout the exhibition, the viewer moves through a dreamlike narrative guided by short video loops, monologue fragments, planet imagery, and space projections. Deconstructing and reconstructing the templates of mass media, Melhus problematizes the relationship the viewer builds with media, exhibiting an explicit resistance against oversimplification and global cultural homogenization.

Film Screenings and Talks Parallel to the Exhibition

“LOST IN FINITY” is not merely an exhibition, but is supported by a rich cinema and performance program:

Cinema Selection (Outdoor): Productions like Lars von Trier’s apocalyptic drama Melancholia (2011), Joshua Oppenheimer’s post-apocalyptic musical THE END (2024), and the classic The Wizard of Oz (1939) are screened on the lawn.
Artist Talks: Talks focusing on apocalyptic narratives, pop culture sources, and cinematic references are curated with the participation of figures like Vanina Saracino and Dr. Susanne Kaufmann-Valet.
Closing Performance (August 23): Melhus’s lecture performance titled “DEADLY FRUITS – From Earth Rise to Weltuntergang”, which will conclude the exhibition, will bring narratives of the end of the world to a close with contextual depth.