Rainbow in the Dark

Rainbow in the Dark: On the Joy and Torment of Faith is an exhibition on art, religious rituals, mysticism, spirituality and faith that investigates how contemporary art challenges the opposition between religious and secular societies. The exhibition brings together photographs, videos, paintings, sculptures and installations, and explores the ways that current art addresses the appeal of religion, mysticism and the irrational beyond the horizon of modernity.

The term ‘post-secular society’ has been used lately in reference to the adaptation of European political consciousness to the increased visibility of immigrant communities and the heightened profile of faith in public debates. The broad perception of global conflicts in terms of religious strife also strengthens the general consensus that the return of religion has emerged as one of the most important factors in global politics and culture today.

Late modern and contemporary art are considered fortresses of secular values in society, and the twentieth century introduced us to new art media and forms that aligned themselves with progressive technology, secularity and radical subjectivity. The ideas that have fed into art come from modern philosophy, liberal politics, psychology and popular culture rather than religion or theology.

Yet, the return of religious power, or the entry of religion from the marginal to the mainstream of cultural and political awareness, also applies to the visual arts, hitherto considered fortresses of secular values in society.

The exhibitionis a sequel to the project first presented at SALT Galata in Istanbul, which referred to the socio-political and religious context of Turkey. For the project at Malmö Konstmuseum, a new constellation of works accentuates the context and image of Sweden as a secularised society and its contemporary challenges related to religious and ethnic conflicts.

This exhibition was made possible by generous loans from the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, Studio Filmowe Indeks in Łódź and Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, with additional support from the Polish Institute in Stockholm.

Invited artists

Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa, Tamar Guimarães & Kasper Akhøj, Mirosław Bałka, Yael Bartana, Magnus Bärtås, Carl Johan Erikson, Etcetera, Michael Kessus Gedalyovich, Nilbar Güreş, Michal Heiman, Jonathan Horowitz, Hristina Ivanoska & Yane Calovski, Gülsün Karamustafa, Köken Ergun, Paweł Kwiek, Honorata Martin, Jumana Manna & Sille Storihle, Virginia de Medeiros, Teresa Murak, Nira Pereg, Lene Adler Petersen & Bjørn Nørgaard, Wael Shawky, Slavs and Tatars, Zbigniew Warpechowski, Nahum Zenil and Artur Żmijewski.

Curated by Galit Eilat and Sebastian Cichocki