The world’s first biennial where art is only realized as a model, which makes things a little easier: this idea was born two years ago in Düsseldorf. There, as at 19 other German train stations, is a model railroad installed on which up to four trains can be set in motion at the same time for a price of 1 euro. The glass boxes were placed around 1970 by the Ehret company, whose main business was to operate vending machines at train stations. The company, which ran 36 model railroad stands at peak times, closed down recently. A full-time railroad manager has adopted them as a hobby and is planning to modernize the models that stalled during the years of the German “economic miracle.” During this transition period, artist Alexander Janz and cultural studies scholar Felix Koberstein have succeeded in launching a biennial: every two years, another city will host a show featuring new works by different artists. The second venue is Frankfurt am Main. Curator Klara Hülskamp has joined the team there. 

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller are among the best-known artists at the 2024 Model Biennial, as is performer Tim Etchells. A drive-in movie theater was built especially for the group Total Refusal, where a video work with NPCs (non-playable characters) from a computer game can be seen. The tremendous charm of the exhibition lies in the fact that the contrasts between art and non-art, between the idiosyncrasy of the regular model city and the artistic manipulations turn the visit into a quiz: Can you find all 12 works? Is the harshly lit encounter between two 1:87-scale people on a small bridge part of the artwork that consists of scattered teeth—or has this strange (love?) scene always been like this?

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