In a large-scale takeover of the two-story gallery, Fever blends sound, scent, heat, and visuals to create an experience that explores the inner space between heat-induced delirium, techno-shamanism – a movement combining technology, music, and spirituality – and fiction. On the ground floor of the gallery, Peschek will showcase new portraits on silk created in dialogue with AI and sculptures developed through glass blowing and 3D printing techniques, while the mezzanine will be transformed into an immersive healing oracle installation.
Drawing on their previous research on deserts and care-cultures, Peschek conducted research in Abu Dhabi’s Liwa Desert, from where they articulated their own myths around protective desert snakes, the blurring sensations of mirage formations, and the cyclical dilemma of a figure close to an Ouroboros, a symbol common in Ancient Greek mythology portraying a snake eating its own tail which represents the eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth. In Fever it is rather the venom gland that is swallowed by the poisonous snake, referring to today’s environmental toxicity.
Fever is part of a cycle of works entitled GAIA SCRIPTS that, when complete, will encompass the planet’s five elements. The exploration of extreme heat in Fever represents the element of fire and follows Peschek’s previous works, OASIS (air) and THE RITUALS OF VAPOR SHELLS (water).
THE BLIND (2024)
80 x 100cm
THE BLUR (2024)
80 x 100
THE GHOST (2024)
80 x 100cm
Peschek says: “Being in the UAE and cut off from my usual understanding of the world made a huge impact on my practice and on my thought process – particularly with regards to this body of work. I look forward to returning to the UAE, which deeply inspired me and offered a fresh context for ideas about the human condition and its relation to environment and technology that I have been investigating in my practice for many years.”
Veronika Berezina, NIKA Project Space founder, says: “This showcase is the outcome of Christiane’s research with the gallery earlier this year. Working closely with the local context, it exemplifies our dedication to supporting cross-cultural conversations.”
Courtesy of NIKA Project Space
Aligning with the gallery’s mission of platforming artistic discourse and experimentation, the NIKA Project Space research programme welcomed Peschek as part of its third cycle. Most recently, London-based artist Nika Neelova investigated the ancient marine life that once inhabited Buhais Geology Park and the Jebel Buhais archaeological site in Al Madam Plain (Sharjah, UAE). Prior to this, Katya Muromtseva interviewed women migrants in Dubai, whose profoundly personal stories formed the foundation of her solo show at the gallery during a month-long residency.
Launched in 2023 the NIKA Project Space Research programme invites artists to create new work using research-based and experimental creative processes, facilitating the exploration and representation of nuanced societal experiences and historical narratives.
Christiane Peschek
Fever
October 11 – January 11, 2024
11-7pm, Monday-Saturday
NIKA Project Space, Al Khayat Avenue Unit 11 19th Street Road
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
About Christiane Peschek
In their work, Christiane Peschek (they/them) explore the interplay between humans and technology in a hyperreality shaped by the internet. They conceive immersive experiences that confront visitors with their own consciousness through the interplay of multiple sensory media including the use of Wi-Fi radiation as a treatment element, olfactory stimulation, sound frequencies, and visual stimuli. Peschek‘s installations have been exhibited internationally, most recently at Kunsthaus Graz, Museum MARTA Herford, Kunstmuseum Celle, Benaki Museum Athens, NRW Forum Düsseldorf and DIANA New York and is in various collections such as Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Artothek des Bundes, Belvedere 21 Vienna, and ING DiBA Art Collection. They live and work in the Cloud.
About NIKA Project Space
Veronika Berezina founded NIKA Project Space in the UAE in 2023, a gallery that fosters the artistic inquiry of emerging and established artists and curators internationally, with a focus on practitioners from the Global South.
NIKA Project Space serves as a platform for artistic discourse and experimentation and champions the work of female artists and curators. In addition to exhibitions which focus on conceptualization, abstraction, and philosophical inquiry, NIKA Project Space offers a critically engaged programme that emphasizes contemporaneity and dialogue through talks, performances, and educational initiatives. The gallery also hosts a research programme, inviting artists to create impactful new works that implement research-based and experimental creative processes, ultimately facilitating the exploration and portrayal of nuanced societal experiences and historical narratives.
In 2024, NIKA Project Space inaugurated a European location in the Komunuma art district in Romainville, on the outskirts of Paris. In Dubai, the gallery is located in Al Khayat Avenue, Al Quoz.
About Veronika Berezina
Veronika Berezina is the founder of NIKA Project Space, a UAE and Paris-based gallery that fosters the artistic inquiry of emerging and established artists and curators. Committed to providing a space for discourse and critical engagement, Berezina opened the doors to NIKA Project Space in Dubai in March 2023 and NIKA Project Space Paris in September 2024 and has since worked in tandem with international practitioners, with a focus on artists and curators from the Global South. Through a considered approach, Berezina is building a rigorous roster of artists and focusing on expanding the gallery’s research programme and publishing arm. Born in St. Petersburg, Berezina formerly held a career as a lawyer. In 2022, she relocated to Dubai to pursue her goal of opening a gallery. NIKA Project Space evolved from over a decade of private collecting and patronage.
For more information, please visit nika-projects.com.
