This Thursday February 13th, 2025, the exhibition “HeroinKids – I Hope You Enjoy Watching Me Die.” will open at Gallery46.
HeroinKids reflects youth between feelings of alienation, unwantedness, an boredom, between drugs, group sex, illegal rave parties, isolation, vulnerability, excess, and collapse. It sees itself as a slice of a wild and free life lived on the brink of self-destruction, without rules or fixed values. The photographs and video depict girls and young women amidst neglect, violence, nudity, and prostitution.
Their photographs turn young women into sickly dolls. They question individuality and self-determination, where diseases become fashion accessories. The photos and videos appear superficial, bold, and aggressive, showing disposable peopl without individuality, yet strangely intimate and fragile.
One looks in vain for an educational approach or moralizing finger-pointin In the past, the art project by Engel and Kaiser has faced multiple censorship attempts by the German state, as well as a court case that was ultimately dismissed in favor of artistic freedom. The State Media Authority accused them of glorifying drugs, dehumanizing people, and being “socially and ethically disorienting.”
The German Advertising Council also publicly criticized the company for one of their poster campaigns in Berlin. The accusation: The photograph played with the means of sex, underground ambiance, and drug suggestion, thus glorifying drugs and impairing development.
In addition to many photographs, the core of the exhibition “I Hope You Enjoy Watching Me Die” features an audiovisual video installation that portrays a sick, broken, superficial, and pornographic world, but also a world full of aesthetic HeroinKids is an art project and fashion brand from Berlin, founded by Corinna Elena Engel and Christian Kaiser. The project includes photographs and videos, visual and acoustic installations, the namesake fashion brand, and events. Inspired by illegal rave parties, Berlin’s techno club scene, and punk attitude, Corinna Elena Engel and Christian Kaiser create a nihilistic vision of beauty, grace, and fragility.
HeroinKids – I Hope You Enjoy Watching Me Die. February 13th – February 27th, 2025, Gallery 46
Art Opening: February 13th, 2025, 7 PM, free admission
About
Corinna Elena Engel and Christian Kaiser, both born in Munich, are freelance artists, authors, entrepreneurs, and fashion designers. They live and work alternately in Berlin, Munich, and Corsica. They became known to the public through their project “HeroinKids.” The project includes photographs, videos, as well as visual and acoustic installations. HeroinKids is an art project that began in 2007. Accusations of endangering youth, glorifying drugs, and debates about sexism quickly arose. After they showcased their work on their website in 2011, attempts to ban their work followed, along with a court case by the German state, claiming their photographs were “socially and ethically disorienting” and therefore should not be shown. The case was eventually dropped in favor of artistic freedom. Shortly thereafter, the Index Verlag (Prophecy Productions) published the photo book HeroinKids (ISBN 9783936878219).
In 2012, UBooks Verlag published the youth book “Seelenvernichter” (ISBN 9783939239000), which deals with violence among teenage girls. After the legal proceedings, the duo moved from Munich to Berlin to further develop their art project.
In 2016, they founded the eponymous Fashion Brand. Under the motto “Ignorant Fashion,” they create collections inspired by illegal rave parties, Berlin’s techno club scene, and punk attitude.
From 2017 to 2020, they organized techno events, including at the Kantine at Berghain and in the KitKat Club. These parties blend art exhibitions with kinky techno raves.
Also in 2017, Corinna Engel and Christian Kaiser spoke at the “At The Edge Of Fashion Branding” event at the Berlin Fashion Film Festival, discussing with an international fashion industry audience how young designers and artists can successfully brand fashion today, heavily referencing modern media and their
own art.
They have had successful collaborations with models such as Julia Wulf (Germany’s Next Topmodel), Ania Chiz (ELITE PARIS), and Yana Kyrukova. International superstars like Headhunterz have worn the brand during their performances.
In 2019, they exhibited their photographs at various locations in Berlin. In 2021, the German-French TV channel ARTE produced the documentary “Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo: Lost Generation.” For this, they interviewed both artists and followed them during their photographic artistic work. The documentary was broadcast on ARTE in 2022. In 2024, together with the well-known Berliner Frank Künster (King Size Bar), they organized a series of events named “Exzessbetreuung” in his new bar in Berlin Mitte.
In July 2024, they presented their collection at Berlin Fashion Week with a runway show. Since August 2024, their studio and store have been located in Berlin- Kreuzberg, where they continue to work on their art project and fashion label to this day.
