Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca

In spring 2026, the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt am Main will present the first major solo exhibition in Germany by the Brazilian-Irish artist duo Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca. Their impressive audiovisual works address issues faced by marginalised groups, revealing the cultural forms of expression and collective practices they utilise to confront discrimination and exclusion with confidence. Their large-format film installations combine documentary and fictional elements and are always collaborative in nature: the people in front of the camera co-produce and co-design the films.

For the exhibition project, the duo is developing a new work entitled “Straight Edge – sXe” (working title), which sheds light on a movement that emerged on the East Coast of the United States as a “clean” counterculture to the hardcore and punk scenes of the 1980s. This movement protested against the self-destructive hedonism and general mainstream culture of the time, which saw widespread alcohol and drug consumption among young people, and promoted a conscious lifestyle free from meat, drugs and excessive consumption. In their film project, Wagner and de Burca explore the resurgence of the combination of hardcore and abstinence among young people today, particularly in the wake of the Covid pandemic. They ask whether abstaining from meat, alcohol and consumerism could once again constitute a rebellious act that sets young people apart, despite these phenomena now being part of the capitalist world of commodities and the social mainstream.

In their new production, the artist duo will explore the phenomenon in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, where important locations in the scene emerged early on thanks to regional bands, local venues and “straight edgers” who are still active today. Music and its communal experience play a major role in the exhibition. An educational and mediation programme will make the video works accessible to the public.

Curator: Katharina Dohm

Exhibition: SCHIRN KUNSTHALLE, Frankfurt am Main: 29.01.–26.04.2026