The The Brotherhood of Subterranea was an exhibition curated by Ben Judd at Kunstbunker, Nuremberg, Germany. The exhibition continued Judd’s exploration of belief, focusing on marginalised, occult groups and esoteric belief systems, such as witchcraft, shamanism and spiritualism through a staged manifestation of a group of ‘practitioners’ who straddle the boundary between artists and members of a fictional cult. The objective of the exhibition was to construct an underground movement (in both senses) that suggested a secret society, the members of which expressed their allegiance through the fabrication of images and artefacts with qualities that seem coded and cryptic. The exhibition also examined the potential ‘power’ of a curatorial premise to induce belief, or suspend disbelief; artwork could become artefact within the curatorial framework and its original meaning could be manipulated by the exhibition.

The exhibition included work by Jonathan Baldock, Marcus Coates, David Raymond Conroy, Sian Davies, Kaye Donachie, Alasdair Duncan, Dan Ford, Alistair Frost, Ashley Gallant & Matt Chesney, Brian Griffiths, Anne Hardy, Alex Hartley, Paul Johnson, Ben Judd, Meiro Koizumi, Jim Shaw, Mark Titchner and Francis Upritchard.

The Kuntsbunker is a former Second World War bunker in Nuremberg, converted into a well respected institution, funded by local government, that stages international exhibitions. The Brotherhood of Subterranea led to a series of works by Judd that used actors to simulate the ritual activities of occult groups, starting with Observance at the Barbican Art Gallery, London, in 2009.

Download the press release here.