MaMA 

Abner Preis tells simple stories with a positive, childlike narrative. He builds settings and involves his audiences in creating a special feeling and delivery of the narratives. For The Adventures of the Great Abnerio , Abner will create an interactive storytelling experience based on friendship, fantasy, magic and – most importantly – storytelling.

Abner Preis’ solo exhibition in MAMA is concentrated around the character The Great Abnerio and his travels. The great Abnerio is a ‘strong man’ in his own traveling show, in which he tells stories about his adventures as a super hero, about his friends and the magic he learned along the way. The exhibition will be filled with a magic theater, drawings, sculptures, and a floating Arc. The central piece of the exhibition is a large Mary Go Round in which visitors can take place and can listen to stories of the adventures of the Great Abnerio. The audience will be encouraged to transform themselves into the Great Abnerio. Everybody who enters the exhibition receives a moustache just like the Great Abnerio.

The great Abnerio will also travel throughout the Netherlands from March 1st till March 6rd, sharing his adventures with others, presenting movies, magic and laughter. The Great Abnerio will visit o.a. NP3 (Groningen), W139 (Amsterdam) and MU (Eindhoven). For the invitation of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), Abner is recording a film about the traveling circus of The Great Abnerio. This film will premiere on February 5 at the IFFR.

Abner Preis’ stories deal about daily issues and universal human emotions. His stories have characters as “Donkey Dan”, about a boy who never feels accepted by his peers because of his massive penis he calls his Donkey. Dan is an outsider of his community until he and his family discover the Donkey Tribe during a vacation in Africa. The Donkey Tribe accepts Donkey Dan as a member of their clan. Another story is called “Spots and Stripes” and deals about a dog and a cat who learn to respect and love each other through the lessons of their owner. Pete the Pig and Charley the clown is a story about baby pig that lost his parents at an art fair … but ultimately finds a friend with whom he can travel around the world with.