alinos
Forumium maestatis
Ambivalent Truths
AMBIVALENT TRUTHS
OR THE LAST GEOGRAPHICALLY DEFINED EXHIBITION
ARTISTS / SERBIA (IVAN GRUBANOV), MACEDONIA (ZANETA VANGELI)
MACEDONIA (NADA PRLJA), KOSOVO (DREN MALIQI) *
SERIOUS INTERESTS AGENCY
PRIVATE VIEW/ THURSDAY 8 JUNE, 7 ? 8.30PM
25 ENNISMORE GARDENS, LONDON SW7 1AB, 44 (0) 781 5766330
EXHIBITION DATES / 9 JUNE - 1 JULY 2006
THURSDAY - SATURDAY, 10AM - 6PM
INFO@SERIOUSINTERESTS.CO.UK, www.SERIOUSINTERESTS.CO.UK
AMBIVALENT TRUTHS conveys, through works of art, the manner in which local
political situations, related to the recent history of South East Europe, are
seen and interpreted within a global context.
A personal reflection on the meaning of truth is conveyed in the work of four
artists originating from the Western Balkans; the resulting ensemble of
artworks powerfully reflects the ambiguity of the notion of a singular truth.
The exhibition likewise raises the issue whether such situations of ambivalent
truths are particularly related to the West Balkans, or whether they are mirror
images of parallel situations and conditions in other geographical coordinates
around the world. In this way, the project aims to promote a higher level of
understanding and tolerance in inter-human relationships.
* The exhibition also highlights the absurdity of perceiving artists as
representatives of a particular national or geographical region. This issue is
raised in the list of contributing artists, by methodically positioning the
name
of the artists? country of origin prior to the personal names of the artists.
This forceful act, based on assumptions about the artists? national sense of
belonging, religious and political orientation, aims to enable a meaningful
dialogue within the realm of culture. Culture remains one of the ?only
places? where such dialogue can be hosted.
Let us therefore classify this exhibition as THE LAST GEOGRAPHICALLY DEFINED
EXHIBITION.
-----
AMBIVALENT TRUTHS RESEARCH The exhibition itself is seen as part of an
open-ended project and process that aims, through several steps and stages
(Research, Exhibition and Archive) to broaden the public awareness of the post
war situation in the Western Balkans. The Archive consists of the collection of
international media coverage of the political, historical, ethnic, cultural and
religious aspects relevant to the conditions and situations within which the
exhibited works of art were created. This research will form a part of the
exhibition at the gallery for the duration of ?Ambivalent Truths??. It
will subsequently be stored within the Gallery Archive and made available for
consultation by appointment only.
SIA GALLERY is a new gallery/project space, which is situated a 5-10 minute walk
from the Serpentine Gallery and the Goethe Institute on Exhibition Road. The
gallery aims to enable politically engaged art to occupy a domestic space
within the ?imperial heart? of the prestigious area of Knightsbridge. This
allows the gallery to occupy an unusual position in the London Art-world.
------
About the artists
(S) Ivan Grubanov, currently an artist-in-residence of Delfina studios in
London, works in various mediums predominantly with videos and painting and has
become well known for his pencil drawings. He has exhibited internationally and
is currently part of the group exhibition ?Around the World in Eighty Days?
at the ICA & SLG, London. His major solo shows were at Stroom, Hague and at the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade. He has participated in numerous group
exhibitions, recently including ?Off-Key? at the Kunsthalle, Bern,
?Interupted Histories? at Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana, etc. Essays about
Grubanov?s work can be found in the forthcoming issues of ?Contemporary?
and ?Afterall?.
In STUDY OF MY FATHER, A RELATION TO THE ORIGIN, Grubanov?s narrative composes
an intricate juxtaposition: images of a dominant father figure, representative
of a particular historical and political heritage, are followed by portraits of
Grubanov himself and his brother. They too, embody this heritage, while at the
same time carrying the aura of a different, newer era. Interspersed with these
portraits, depicted within a typically domestic environment, are images of
street demonstrations and the bomb-damaged city that give expression to an
unsettled reality. Grubanov?s eye gazes sharply on his father?s as well as
his own vision of truth, while at the same time shifting the viewers?
established interpretation of truth in relation to a singular political and
geographical reference ? the NATO bombardments of Belgrade in 1999.
(M) Zaneta Vangeli is one of the key figures of the South Eastern European art
scene. Working since the late 80?s, she has almost single-handedly
established the foundation for the contemporary art scene in the region.
Working predominantly with installations and the video and film medium
(including full length feature films), Vangeli has had numerous solo and group
exhibitions, both locally and internationally. She represented Macedonia at the
Venice Bienalle in 2003.
The project SHOW ROOM III is a cycle of works realized between ?02-?06,
consisting of several installations, which incorporate video, objects and
photography. All of the works incorporated in this project are focused on
various aspects of global contemporary political processes. Zangeli looks at
geographical and territorial interests as a provocation for political and
economic interventions. A motif which interweaves throughout Vangeli?s work,
is the use of words and phrases to describe particular concepts, juxtaposed
with an image in the background. ?Chronofetishism vs Geofetishism? is an
example of this approach and is a phrase that has come to define this
particular exhibition. The video ?RealKunst or Essential Harvest? was
initially a part of her exhibition at the Venice Biennale and will be presented
in London for the first time.
(M) Nada Prlja is an artist living and working in London, where she graduated
from the RCA with a research degree. Prlja has exhibited internationally and
has recently initiated the Serious Interest Agency to explore and question
notions of the new European identity. Her current project, the 'Advanced
Science of Morphology', consists of 26 combinations of the national flags of
the states that once made up Yugoslavia. This public art work, commissioned by
the curatorial group B+B, replaces the flags of the EU member states in the
Marble Arch park . On June 7th, the flags will be installed in the exhibition
'The Sweetest Dream: Unity and Dissonance in Europe', at SPACE Gallery.
IN SEARCH OF JUSTICE is a project that belongs to Prlja?s recent interest in
national flags as representations of similarities and differences of cultures
and national identities. She questions all prejudices and the validity of the
passing of judgments, be it on a personal or a judicial level. The process of
judgment of the national and religious beliefs of one culture by another,
brings to the forefront the existence of a multiplicity of interpretations of
any vision, questioning thereby the notion of a singular truth. The project
encourages but also questions the possibility of co-existence.
(K) Dren Maliqi works predominantly with site-specific projects, using words,
phrases and slogans as key elements of the work. With the current focus on the
art scene in Kosovo, Maliqi has gained an international reputation. Due to the
simplicity and strength of his ?art vocabulary?, key phrases from his work
have been used as the title of several group exhibitions.
The work HOT COLD refers to the co-existence of extremes. The conditions of hot
and cold refers to the specific political context of the Balkans, where there
is no middle ground, only opposites. ?Hot Cold? is a simple but powerful
installation in which the viewer searches for the middle point, the balance in
a situation of ?invisible? extremes, which one must find instinctively, by
way of feeling. The work explores, in a more universal sense, the instinctive
human need for balance necessary for one?s wellbeing, and the continuous
search for it. It is a balance that is reached only with the presence of the
two opposites.
AMBIVALENT TRUTHS
OR THE LAST GEOGRAPHICALLY DEFINED EXHIBITION
ARTISTS / SERBIA (IVAN GRUBANOV), MACEDONIA (ZANETA VANGELI)
MACEDONIA (NADA PRLJA), KOSOVO (DREN MALIQI) *
SERIOUS INTERESTS AGENCY
PRIVATE VIEW/ THURSDAY 8 JUNE, 7 ? 8.30PM
25 ENNISMORE GARDENS, LONDON SW7 1AB, 44 (0) 781 5766330
EXHIBITION DATES / 9 JUNE - 1 JULY 2006
THURSDAY - SATURDAY, 10AM - 6PM
INFO@SERIOUSINTERESTS.CO.UK, www.SERIOUSINTERESTS.CO.UK
AMBIVALENT TRUTHS conveys, through works of art, the manner in which local
political situations, related to the recent history of South East Europe, are
seen and interpreted within a global context.
A personal reflection on the meaning of truth is conveyed in the work of four
artists originating from the Western Balkans; the resulting ensemble of
artworks powerfully reflects the ambiguity of the notion of a singular truth.
The exhibition likewise raises the issue whether such situations of ambivalent
truths are particularly related to the West Balkans, or whether they are mirror
images of parallel situations and conditions in other geographical coordinates
around the world. In this way, the project aims to promote a higher level of
understanding and tolerance in inter-human relationships.
* The exhibition also highlights the absurdity of perceiving artists as
representatives of a particular national or geographical region. This issue is
raised in the list of contributing artists, by methodically positioning the
name
of the artists? country of origin prior to the personal names of the artists.
This forceful act, based on assumptions about the artists? national sense of
belonging, religious and political orientation, aims to enable a meaningful
dialogue within the realm of culture. Culture remains one of the ?only
places? where such dialogue can be hosted.
Let us therefore classify this exhibition as THE LAST GEOGRAPHICALLY DEFINED
EXHIBITION.
-----
AMBIVALENT TRUTHS RESEARCH The exhibition itself is seen as part of an
open-ended project and process that aims, through several steps and stages
(Research, Exhibition and Archive) to broaden the public awareness of the post
war situation in the Western Balkans. The Archive consists of the collection of
international media coverage of the political, historical, ethnic, cultural and
religious aspects relevant to the conditions and situations within which the
exhibited works of art were created. This research will form a part of the
exhibition at the gallery for the duration of ?Ambivalent Truths??. It
will subsequently be stored within the Gallery Archive and made available for
consultation by appointment only.
SIA GALLERY is a new gallery/project space, which is situated a 5-10 minute walk
from the Serpentine Gallery and the Goethe Institute on Exhibition Road. The
gallery aims to enable politically engaged art to occupy a domestic space
within the ?imperial heart? of the prestigious area of Knightsbridge. This
allows the gallery to occupy an unusual position in the London Art-world.
------
About the artists
(S) Ivan Grubanov, currently an artist-in-residence of Delfina studios in
London, works in various mediums predominantly with videos and painting and has
become well known for his pencil drawings. He has exhibited internationally and
is currently part of the group exhibition ?Around the World in Eighty Days?
at the ICA & SLG, London. His major solo shows were at Stroom, Hague and at the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade. He has participated in numerous group
exhibitions, recently including ?Off-Key? at the Kunsthalle, Bern,
?Interupted Histories? at Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana, etc. Essays about
Grubanov?s work can be found in the forthcoming issues of ?Contemporary?
and ?Afterall?.
In STUDY OF MY FATHER, A RELATION TO THE ORIGIN, Grubanov?s narrative composes
an intricate juxtaposition: images of a dominant father figure, representative
of a particular historical and political heritage, are followed by portraits of
Grubanov himself and his brother. They too, embody this heritage, while at the
same time carrying the aura of a different, newer era. Interspersed with these
portraits, depicted within a typically domestic environment, are images of
street demonstrations and the bomb-damaged city that give expression to an
unsettled reality. Grubanov?s eye gazes sharply on his father?s as well as
his own vision of truth, while at the same time shifting the viewers?
established interpretation of truth in relation to a singular political and
geographical reference ? the NATO bombardments of Belgrade in 1999.
(M) Zaneta Vangeli is one of the key figures of the South Eastern European art
scene. Working since the late 80?s, she has almost single-handedly
established the foundation for the contemporary art scene in the region.
Working predominantly with installations and the video and film medium
(including full length feature films), Vangeli has had numerous solo and group
exhibitions, both locally and internationally. She represented Macedonia at the
Venice Bienalle in 2003.
The project SHOW ROOM III is a cycle of works realized between ?02-?06,
consisting of several installations, which incorporate video, objects and
photography. All of the works incorporated in this project are focused on
various aspects of global contemporary political processes. Zangeli looks at
geographical and territorial interests as a provocation for political and
economic interventions. A motif which interweaves throughout Vangeli?s work,
is the use of words and phrases to describe particular concepts, juxtaposed
with an image in the background. ?Chronofetishism vs Geofetishism? is an
example of this approach and is a phrase that has come to define this
particular exhibition. The video ?RealKunst or Essential Harvest? was
initially a part of her exhibition at the Venice Biennale and will be presented
in London for the first time.
(M) Nada Prlja is an artist living and working in London, where she graduated
from the RCA with a research degree. Prlja has exhibited internationally and
has recently initiated the Serious Interest Agency to explore and question
notions of the new European identity. Her current project, the 'Advanced
Science of Morphology', consists of 26 combinations of the national flags of
the states that once made up Yugoslavia. This public art work, commissioned by
the curatorial group B+B, replaces the flags of the EU member states in the
Marble Arch park . On June 7th, the flags will be installed in the exhibition
'The Sweetest Dream: Unity and Dissonance in Europe', at SPACE Gallery.
IN SEARCH OF JUSTICE is a project that belongs to Prlja?s recent interest in
national flags as representations of similarities and differences of cultures
and national identities. She questions all prejudices and the validity of the
passing of judgments, be it on a personal or a judicial level. The process of
judgment of the national and religious beliefs of one culture by another,
brings to the forefront the existence of a multiplicity of interpretations of
any vision, questioning thereby the notion of a singular truth. The project
encourages but also questions the possibility of co-existence.
(K) Dren Maliqi works predominantly with site-specific projects, using words,
phrases and slogans as key elements of the work. With the current focus on the
art scene in Kosovo, Maliqi has gained an international reputation. Due to the
simplicity and strength of his ?art vocabulary?, key phrases from his work
have been used as the title of several group exhibitions.
The work HOT COLD refers to the co-existence of extremes. The conditions of hot
and cold refers to the specific political context of the Balkans, where there
is no middle ground, only opposites. ?Hot Cold? is a simple but powerful
installation in which the viewer searches for the middle point, the balance in
a situation of ?invisible? extremes, which one must find instinctively, by
way of feeling. The work explores, in a more universal sense, the instinctive
human need for balance necessary for one?s wellbeing, and the continuous
search for it. It is a balance that is reached only with the presence of the
two opposites.