Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca Present Video Works on Subcultures at Schirn Kunsthalle

The collaborative artist duo Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca, based in Brazil, are presenting their exhibition 'The Tunnels We Dig' at Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt. The show features three audiovisual works created between 2016 and 2026, focusing on music subcultures that developed outside mainstream art and cultural institutions. The exhibition includes 'Future of Yesterday' (2026), which examines Germany's contemporary hardcore and straight edge scenes; 'RISE' (2018), documenting Afro-Caribbean Canadians using hip-hop and rap in Toronto's subway system; and 'Estás vendo coisas / You are seeing things' (2016), exploring Brega music from Recife, Brazil. These works highlight multigenerational youth movements that emerged in the early 1980s, creating independent cultural structures now being reinterpreted by younger generations. Wagner and de Burca employ a collaborative methodology, involving the portrayed communities in scriptwriting, set design, music composition, choreography, and production. Their practice investigates sociopolitical issues within these communities through cultural expressions that help them establish public voices. The exhibition title derives from a poem in 'RISE,' using subway tunnels both as physical urban spaces and metaphors for cultural resistance, identity negotiation, and artistic transformation. The show runs until April 26, 2026.