Yaël Kempf, artist

Yaël Kempf, born in Geneva and based in Düsseldorf, explores the complex relationships between culture and nature through immersive installations. She combines organic elements such as algae, fungi, and animals with industrial consumer goods like inflatable toys and clothing, as well as construction materials. By incorporating signs, symbols, and innovative video techniques, she creates a clash of eras and forms that reveals the contradictions of our contemporary reality. Her works, adapted to various contexts – from parking lots to churches, and including basements, safes, garages, and shop windows – uncover the inconsistencies of cultural and social narratives. Through the conceptual use of visual metaphors and subtle irony, Kempf addresses themes such as migration and power dynamics, offering a renewed perspective on our place as humans in the world. In 2024, Kempf presented the solo exhibition Annunciation at Kunsthaus Essen and received support from the Visuelle Kunst Junge Szene program for her project La Faim du Tigre. In 2023, she was honored with the Deutsche Bank Atelier-Stipendium and participated in exhibitions such as When Metabolisms Become Form and The Dreams Are Still The Same in Düsseldorf. In 2022, she was an artist-in-residence in Tel Aviv and benefited from the AUFTAKT program's support for Républicain Social.