Cartoons in the town hall: Balance files” bring laughter to the office!

Cartoons in the town hall: Balance files” bring laughter to the office!

Something unique is currently happening in the Reinickendorf town hall: Under the title “Balance Files”, the artist Axel Hörnig, known by his pseudonym lexatoons, shows humorous cartoons from everyday administrative life. The exhibition, which opened on September 26th, 2025 with a vernissage at 6 p.m., will be on view until November 7th, 2026. Admission is free and visitors can expect an entertaining and at the same time critical examination of everyday office life in authorities.

The cartoons address the often absurd aspects of working life in the administration, including overflowing stacks of files and crazy applications. This humorous depiction illustrates what everyday life is like in these institutions and invites you to reflect on the sometimes bizarre realities of office life. Based on the observations of lexaart Cartoons are not only a form of humor, but also a means to address social issues in an entertaining way. A good cartoon has to appeal to the audience's sensibilities and is not always considered suitable for all contexts.

The Lexatoons style

Axel Hörnig has been working on his own style, which he calls Lexatoons, since the 1990s. The drawings are characterized by simple lines that are colored on the computer. The figures are unmistakable: long, thin necks, oversized noses and often barely sustainable hairstyles characterize his characters. This form of representation makes it possible to stage even serious topics such as bureaucracy in a humorous way and thus encourage laughter and reflection.

Humor in art has changed over time. Traditionally, serious art was considered more valuable, while humorous works were often considered inferior. But how Artsper As we repeatedly note, humor can be found in many galleries and art fairs today. Humor is not only perceived as entertainment, but also as a tool to question and criticize social norms.

Humor as social commentary

The use of humor in art is a technique that has been used over the years by many important artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Banksy to convey critical messages. Dadaism and Surrealism use humor to break with social conventions and create new perspectives. Contemporary art is increasingly using dark humor to draw attention to social inequalities, environmental issues and other current issues.

The exhibition “Balance Files” reflects this trend by creatively addressing everyday life in authorities. It not only shows the absurdity of everyday office life, but also takes a critical look at the structures that determine this daily life. On this occasion, the audience has the opportunity to look at the complexities of everyday administrative life through the artist's eyes, while being both amused and thought-provoking.