TRANSHUMAN N°2
Roy Köhnke
Being Flesh

curated by Stephan Klee

Vernissage
Saturday 30 May at 5 pm
Open until 8 pm  (free admission)

Duration
31 May – 26 Jul 2026
Opening times
Tue – Sun 11 am – 5 pm

Location
Altes Rathaus Göttingen (First Floor)
Markt 9
37073 Göttingen

Entrance Fee:
€ 3,00 / € 1,50 (reduced)
Free admission for guests under 18
Free admission with Kulturticket
Vernissagen and Finissagen are free of admission

INTRODUCTION

“If we start transforming ourselves into something superior, what rights will these enhanced creatures claim, and what rights will they possess when compared to those left behind?” *

Transhumanism primarily aims to optimise, indeed to transcend, the human body as we currently understand it. Key technologies underpinning these aspirations include genetics, bioengineering, artificial intelligence, prosthetics and cryonics (the cryopreservation of bodies). Put positively, the human species is to be ‘empowered’: greater capacity, better senses, higher intelligence independent of location, no more disease and no more ageing. The idealised humanoids are consequently immortal ‘super-subjects’. Their future relationship to the current Homo sapiens remains (as yet) speculative. Whether for the transhuman developments that have long been taking place in our society, or for the ultimate vision of the “superhuman” that excites proponents of the pure doctrine, one thing remains evident: as the object of transhumanism, the human body is fundamentally at the centre; and is thus also central to our 2026 theme: TRANSHUMAN.

Whilst many people welcome scientific, medical and technological progress as opportunities for their bodies, consciously embracing it and actively integrating it into their everyday lives, a newly radicalised transhumanism is degenerating into a powerful ideology on the basis of which economic and political elites strive for physical superiority, boundless wealth and power. Further accelerated by exponentially growing investment capital – the so-called “techno-capital machine” ** – a cut-throat competition for the ‘most optimised’ body is taking hold, which could not only give rise to a techno-enabled elite, but is also gradually and forcibly eroding the free choice of medical-technological enhancement in relation to one’s own body. Bodies would thus become vital demolition zones for the human right to the self-determined integrity of one’s own body.

Against this backdrop, the KVG has chosen to present as the second solo exhibition of the year Roy Köhnke’s Being Flesh, featuring an artist who, whilst primarily exploring the multifaceted relationship between technology and the body, resolutely rejects the emerging techno-capitalist transhumanism as fascistic. Rather, his work explicitly challenges current scientific understanding and social paradigms of the human body by posing fundamental questions: What conception of the human body is actually held in today’s society, and how are bodies treated accordingly?

From groundbreaking studies of proportion, including those by Michelangelo Buonarroti and Leonardo da Vinci (e.g. the ‘Vitruvian Man’), through fundamental scientific works on anatomy, such as Andreas Vesalius’s ‘De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem’, right through to the imaging techniques of modern medicine (X-ray, CT, ultrasound, MRI and nuclear medicine), society’s understanding of the nature and potential of the body has undergone a profound transformation from the Renaissance to the present-day postmodern era. The opaque, fleshy image of God became the vitreous human, and as a perfectly lubricated cellular machine, was seemingly demystified once and for all. This also paved the way for the modern availability of the organism.

How this functionally oriented doctrine about the matter and potential of the body shapes both – our self-image as organic-mechanical beings and the future of our species – Roy Köhnke explores in his works–series. His predominantly drawing- and sculpture-based approach incorporates, amongst other things, medical imaging techniques and draws on our fascination with the comprehensive analysis of our cellular constitution. At the same time, a sense of alienation grows in the face of the medical and mechanical deconstruction of that entity, which we still primarily perceive as a self-determined safe space of flesh, technology and thought: our individual body. For living in an era of accelerated transhumanism could also mean allowing the familiar shelter of one’s own body to be repeatedly transformed by external forces, or rather be deformed? A visit to the installations by the French artist Roy Köhnke in the Old Town Hall may thus also prove to be a reflection — grounded in intense impressions — on our very own sensation of the body in the present day and the near future.

* Francis Fukuyama “Transhumanism” Source Foreign Policy, No. 144 (Sep. – Oct., 2004), pp. 42 – 43

** Nick Land in Essay “Melt Down”, 1995, in: “Fanged Noumena: Collected Writings 1987–2007”, (Urbanomic / Sequence Press, published by MIT Press

PROGRAMME

Sat 30 May from 5 pm
Vernissage
Welcome speeches and introduction to the exhibition
The artist and curator will be in attendance
Open until 8 pm, free admission

Sun 7 Jun / Sun 21 Jun / Sun 29 Jun
3 pm on each day
Sunday tour with Joos Ziegler

Sun 26 Jul 2026 2 pm – 7 pm
The Grand Finissage
Open until 7 pm (free admission) with
3 – 4 pm
Guided tour
“Walk and Talk” – through the exhibition with curator Stephan Klee in German and English
5 – 6 pm
Exhibition discussion
With Roy Köhnke, Stephan Klee and a special guest
6 pm
Closure

Event images:
Roy Köhnke ‘Bugs series’ (detail), 2024, pigment print on aluminium | Part of the exhibition ‘It is Stronger than I Thought’, curated by Julien Arnaud, ADAGP | Photo: Salim Santa Lucia | Courtesy of the artist

ABOUT THE ARTIST
From sculptures and drawings to multimedia installations, Roy Köhnke’s work combines cutting-edge technology with basic craftsmanship. His project aims to overcome physical boundaries by reconnecting the body’s physical characteristics and narratives with its surroundings, whilst simultaneously treating the body as a distinct territory and narrative in its own right. By working with new technologies such as MRI or emotional AI, he explores alternatives to prevailing science fiction narratives in order to restore a body that has been fragmented and isolated by the dominance of science and Western culture. His often situational, transformative and collaborative installations are sites of interaction, much like a film set, where new types of biotechnological/queer organisms develop and assert their coexistence with vigour and vitality. His research focuses on techno-biological/co-evolutionary mechanisms, viewed through the broader prism of social justice, environmental justice and trans struggles.

more information >> roykohnke.com/

THE ANNUAL PROGRAMME

TRANSHUMAN (2026)
>POSTHUMAN (2027)

The Kunstverein Göttingen continues to follow the proven two-year biennial programme rhythm in order to enable the most in-depth examination possible of the programme’s overarching themes. After TERRA DIASPORA (2024–2025) explored contemporary phenomena, our current programme looks to the near and distant future.
The two-year programme TRANSHUMAN >POSTHUMAN (2026 > 2027) takes a critical look at the global transformation anticipated by some schools of thought: the transition from the anthropocentric humans of our time to the technically optimised transhumans of the near future and, even further into the future of our species, to posthumans. In short: the development of humanity from modern humanism to transhumanism to posthumanism.

The basic theme for the first year is TRANSHUMAN (2026) and includes four solo exhibitions and one group exhibition, bringing together artistic approaches and works to form a collection of perspectives and aspects of transhumanism. The formal and thematic basis of all exhibitions is the artistic exploration of the acceleration of technological development and capitalist growth, and the desired biotechnological optimisation of the human body and mind. The resulting social upheavals are already taking place in many ways in our present, with drastic consequences for coexistence within the span of a generation. These acute experiences flow into the visions of the approaching future and into the collective critical reflection of both the artists and our audience. With this in mind, a wide-ranging discourse and education programme is offered. We also aim to publish the annual programme again. The ideology of transhumanism should not be propagated uncritically, but rather deconstructed as critically as possible, collectively and on the basis of the works on display. We cordially invite all interested parties to join us.

We would like to thank our sponsors: Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung, Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur, Stadt Göttingen, Sparkasse Göttingen und Landschaftsverband Südniedersachsen e.V.