NEOZOON | FragMANt TOWER – Digital art exhibition at the Jenoptik high-rise building in Jena

Oversized, fragmented bodies appear on two facades of the Jenoptik high-rise in Jena, in a state of constant transformation. In reference to the Surrealists' concept of the “Cadavre Exquis”, different body parts alternate on the floors of the high-rise. Heads bob, hands nervously grope for food packages, fiddle with their clothing or frantically type on keyboards, while feet carelessly trample flowers and plants. Powerful yet carefree movements that leave traces. 

The growing influence of social media shapes us

The visual collage addresses the growing influence of social media and shows how digital self-staging not only shapes body images, but also influences our relationship to the environment and to ourselves. The restless dynamic is reminiscent of a world in which dominance and control are often confused with strength – with consequences that go beyond the digital space. While they are constantly dealing with products and imagery, they are destroying, unnoticed, what surrounds them and has produced them.

The monumental projection on the sides of the Jenoptik high-rise exaggerates the movement of fragmented identities to a gigantic scale – a symbol of the hectic, self-reflective cycle of digital performance and its real consequences – but also an indication that our media-amplified resonance spaces also offer potential for positive action.

About NEOZOON

NEOZOON is an artists' collective founded in Berlin and Paris in 2009. Their works are based on the principle of collage and explore sociological issues related to speciesism and the Anthropocene. A recurring element in their video works is the disassembly and reassembly of found footage from virtual worlds. NEOZOON's work has been shown at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the ZKM Karlsruhe, the Kunstwerke Berlin, among others, and has been screened at national and international film festivals in Oberhausen, Rotterdam, Locarno and New York.

About the exhibition

The curators of our “tangente” digital art are Robert Seidel, Berlin and Hubert & Treff gallery, Jena.

The projections can be seen from March 27 to April 13, 2025, every half hour starting at 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. each day.

Video art at the Ernst Abbe building

The art projection of NEOZOON is Jenoptik's 7th digital art exhibition after Berlin artist Julian Loscher in spring 2022, Canadian artist Sabrina Ratté in spring 2023, Berlin video artist Robert Seidel in November 2023, an interactive installation by the Jena VJ Kurt Komell in December 2023, GIF collages by Canadian artist Lorna Mills in spring 2024 and fragments of Peter Burr in November 2024.

With this modern form of the traditional art exhibition series “tangente”, which has been in existence since 1994, Jenoptik combines its long-standing commitment to art with modern digital forms of presentation in line with the motto “More Light”. Since 2021, the permanently installed video mapping system has been in operation, with which large-format images can be projected onto the Ernst Abbe high-rise.

Thanks to the artists and our partners

For the realization we thank not only the fantastic artist but also our engaged partners who accompany and support the further development of our art engagement and make this happen: JenaKultur, Huber & Treff gallery and Robert Seidel for curating our exhibitions and the LEC laser event company for the maintenance of the video mapping facility.

Read more about the video mapping technology and equipment in our blog article Video mapping for “More Light” in the city of lights, Jena.