BACKJUMPS

BACKJUMPS – The Live Issue: Reality Check, curated by Adrian Nabi, Lukas Feireiss, Manuel Osterholt, and Daniel Künzler, revisits one of the most influential independent publications in style writing and translates it into a contemporary exhibition format.
Founded by Adrian Nabi in the early 1990s, BACKJUMPS emerged as an international platform for style writing, photography, and cultural discourse. Long before the rise of social media, the magazine connected scenes across Europe and the United States, circulating images, texts, and ideas within a rapidly evolving field.

BACKJUMPS did not simply document a scene — it helped define its visual and cultural language.Through its combination of imagery, text, and editorial positioning, it actively shaped conversations around style writing and contributed to its recognition as a global cultural practice.

From print to spatial platform Live Issue: Reality Check continues the tradition of the Live Issues, in which the magazine expands beyond print and enters exhibition space and the city itself.

The exhibition unfolds as a layered environment: archival material from the original BACKJUMPS archive—including blackbooks, drawings, photographs, and video documentation—is brought into direct dialogue with contemporary artistic positions rooted in writing culture.

Rather than presenting a linear historical narrative, the exhibition creates a dynamic field of exchange between archival material and contemporary artistic practices. While style writing forms the shared backdrop and point of departure for many of the participating artists, the works on view extend far beyond its original vocabulary — moving into painting, sculpture, installation, abstraction, and conceptual approaches. What connects them is not a unified style, but a common  ultural lineage.

ARTISTS
Akim, Anastasia Mikrou, Antwan Horfee, Brad Downey, Boris Dewjatkin, Boris Tellegen, Christian Falsnaes, Clemens Behr, Daniel Weissbach, David von Bahr, Dima Ilko, Doctc5, Egs, Enno Haar, Flash, Frédéric Platéus, Gues, Jay One Ramier, Jazzstylecorner, JonOne, Jürgen Große, Kadir Amigo Memiş, Kacao77, Kripoe, Laila Wiens, Manu Schauseil, Maurer United Architects, Mode2, Pablo Tomek, Part1, Phers, Pigenius Cave, Peter Michalski, Phos4, Poet62, R. Borrmann, Ruediger Glatz, Skki, The Wa, Thomas Bratzke, Victor Ash, Vincent Grunwal, Willem Strattmann and Zeal.

ARCHIVE
Akay & Adams, Amok, Atome, Dejoe, Dero, Dondi, Esher, Henry Chalfant, Kase2, Kaze, Martha Cooper, Nicer, Odem, Serve, Shame125, Shek, Swoon, T-Kid170, West and Zephyr among others.