Fri Oct 22, 2010 00:00 - Tue Sep 21, 2010

Slovenia

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
SKUC Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia
12 - 29 October 2010
Opening on the 12th of October 2010 at 8pm
Part of International Festival of Contemporary Arts
City of Women 2010
Between Past & Future

Curated by Predrag Pajdic and Mara Vujic with Oreet Ashery, Perry Bard, Stefania Bonatelli, Meta Grgurevic, Katharina Hesse & Lara Day, Jessica Lagunas, Vesna Milicevic, Nandipha Mntambo, Katarina Mootich, Maflohé Passedouet, Kira O'Reilly, Petra Reimann, Yvonne De Rosa and Judith Witteman.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back is a group exhibition, borrowing its title from a 1904 revolutionary pamphlet by Vladimir Lenin. The purpose here is not to relate to Lenin’s paper but to use its title in examining a situation where, seemingly for every attempt to make progress in a task, an actual retrograde performance is achieved. The exhibition focuses on “now”, at this very moment, the present in relation to time, future and past. What is our understanding of now? Do we live it, or deplete it by waiting for better days? What is reality and does it have to reflect upon the past in order to survive today? Are we aware and conscious of our history? Do we care about it? Could one exist without a past? What would future be?

Through performances, video, photography and installations, a group of international artists examines 'today' by reconstructing, revisiting and reinventing, not always pleasant but certainly significant moments in their lives; instants that for some reason are nothing else but the blemishes from the past, difficult to comprehend and mostly hard to forget. They may be someone else’s reality all together, yet mingled in a group consciousness that cannot escape it.

One doesn’t choose a war necessarily, or a flood, or famine… or even the trauma that such circumstances may convey. Still, one can relate to it with a full awareness of course or choose oblivion as observed in performances 'Still Life' by Vesna Milicevic and 'Which Way Is Left?' by Katarina Mootich. Both artists belong to the generation that once lived in Yugoslavia, now torn apart into many small countries. To be born in one place and to suddenly exist in another, without even moving your home, has confronting, psychological impact. Certainly one can rewrite history books and change all the symbols of the previous state, but would that mean one could just move on and forget? And if the history books are rewritten, whose past do Milicevic and Mootich relate to?

During the 90’s Yvonne De Rosa worked voluntarily in an old psychiatric hospital in Italy. Six years after the healthcare structure closed the institution down, the artist returns to the rooms and already decaying corridors to document the void left by the patients. Her 'Crazy God' project is a sensitive, touching study consisting of portraits of the objects abandoned by the patients and their wall writings - sentences that are often astonishingly lucid.

Similarly Petra Reimann in 'Unprecedented Development' visits the Stasi top security prison in the Former East Berlin in order to grasp unjust imprisonment and torture that went until the 90’s on her very doorstep. De Rosa and Reimann tap into this emptiness to record as archive before it is obliterated through the passage of time.

It is not surprising that the South African artist Nandipha Mntambo, in her video installation 'Ukungenisa', rehearses the steps of a bullfighter in an abandoned arena in Maputo where black Mozambicans once fought as entertainment for the colonial Portuguese. The bullfight staged by Mntambo is an atypical one, as she confronts a metaphoric bull. With a vacant arena, this once public spectacle has become a private act, a lonely dance, an intimate display of fear and a resulting fearlessness. This deeply moving and highly charged video retains all its power through the absence of a visible threat. An empty shadow makes it more difficult to set the fighting and the protecting apart: as confrontation and refuge, masculine and feminine, aggression and defence, they are by nature at opposite ends of the same spectrum.

Perry Bard’s ‘Man With a Movie Camera: The Global Remake’ is a unique documentation of daily activities from a myriad points of view, uploaded by the general subsequent uploads were processed by software that specifically archived, sequenced and streamed the work to create a film which spans a single day unfolding from sunrise to sunset incorporating footage shot in a number of cities, often using the same shot more than once.

By applying hair onto herself, donated by the audience, Oreet Ashery in her performance 'Hairoism' transforms from a general of the Israel Defence Forces during the '50s to a senior member of the Palestinian organisation Hamas. Once more she metamorphoses from the current Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs to a rock star… and yet again until her body and face are covered entirely by hair visually shifting into animal... ape?... monster?

Perhaps one should just let go! Or slow down at least as Kira O Reilly in 'Stair Falling', attempts to find moments of balance, which are lost to the ungainly. Let go as Judith Witteman may suggest in her installation ‘(1947 - )’, consisting of her mother’s entire collection of perfume bottles she had been using over a period of 25 years. Her mother kept them all, perhaps refusing to surrender to the present, which is certainly not the case with Witteman.

In her performance 'Oracle', her entire body is smeared with honey, which slowly slides down until lying flat on the ground. Its creeping descent, moving little by little, resembles a slow-motion dance. The artist cannot see. She is unable to hear, being utterly alone in her on world. She is vulnerable and not aware of what surrounds her.

Vulnerability continues in Meta Grgurevic’s blood bleeding ballerina entitled ‘Unhappily Being Happy’ or Jessica Lagunas who removes her pubic hair and applies mascara, nail varnish and lipstick in a ritualistic manner until her body is transformed from its beautiful, natural condition into an increasingly chaotic, masked muddle.

But where is the future in all this? Do we really want to know? And even if we do, there is no way we can. Perhaps one should just let go of time and exist in this very moment, because it is the only one you know you certainly have. Alternatively, should we see time as a spiral, all moments in time existing simultaneously, and in that second, meaning is intensified, loaded and wisdom in the emptiness of not yesterday and not tomorrow is left in the viewer’s mind.



EVENTS:

Tuesday 12th October
8 pm - Vesna Miličević / Still Life / Performance / Skuc Gallery
8 pm - Maflohé Psseudet / Between the Lines / Performance / Skuc Gallery
8 pm - Katarina Mootich / Which Way Is Left? / Performance / Skuc Gallery
10 pm - Miya Masaoka / Laser Koto / Sound performance / Skuc Gallery

Wednesday 13th October
12 noon - Predrag Pajdic in conversation with Oreet Ashery / Skuc Gallery
3 - 4.30 pm - Round table with participating artists (moderated by Predrag Pajdic) / Skuc Gallery
11.55 pm - Oreet Ashery & Robert Foddai / The Three Bridges / Action / Tromostovje

Thursday 14th October
12.00 - Predrag Pajdic in conversation with Kira O'Reilly / Skuc Gallery

Friday 15th October
2 - 8 pm - Oreet Ashery / Hairoism / Performance / Skuc Gallery
8 - 9 pm - Judith Witteman / Oracle / Performance / Skuc Gallery
2 - 8 pm - Kira O'Reilly / Stair Falling / Performance/ Grubarjeva Palace

Wed Jan 27, 2010 00:00 - Wed Jan 27, 2010

THE PANDORIAN

A DAILY SPECTACLE OF THE BEST IN ARTS, STYLE AND CULTURE

http://thepandorian.com



Image: © Errikos Andreou & Al Giga, Circus Tales, 2009

Thu May 06, 2010 00:00 - Wed Jan 27, 2010

Lingering Whispers
06 May - 06 June 2010
Opening reception 06 May 2010 from 6.30 P.M.
Crypt, St Pancras Church
Euston Road, London NW1 2BA,
United Kingdom
http://lingering-whispers.com



Does self expression flourish under pressure? Is creativity at its most acute in times of social, political and financial crises? More than anything, do the Arts provide hope during periods of extreme difficulty?

The Great Depression in the 1930’s saw Hollywood enter its Golden Age, a period many still describe as the Imperial Era of cinema. On the eve of WWII in 1939 MGM created Gone with the Wind, still one of the most successful films of all time. The Wizard of Oz, released the same year, became one of the most famous moving pictures ever made and Judy Garland's rendition of Over the Rainbow has been voted the greatest American movie song of all time by the American Film Institute. Extravagant colour and elaborate sets delighted millions; timeless in their invention and splendour while the music, choreography and elaborate costumes of this period all became instant classics, both on celluloid and stage.

So now, while the financial world alleges we are once again in the midst of a grave depression, could Art once more succeed and exceed beyond all limits, providing a platform where all channels of creativity might flourish, stimulate and inspire?

With this in mind, Lingering Whispers has been born. An exhibition comprising over 30 international artists hunting for alternative ways of expression during this crisis. Art and Fashion will merge into one, both stage and catwalk, conscious and subconscious combined where imagination will be celebrated and the pigeonholed eliminated. Contemporary artists, poets, performers, fashion designers and photographers will unite in sharing their unspoken vanities, intoxicating fantasies, illusions, longings, dreams and desires. Lingering Whispers is about experiencing, not inert viewing. Art as a stage rather than four blank gallery walls. A glamorous, exquisite alternative to darkness and gloom.

Curated by Predrag Pajdic and produced by Virginie Puertolas-Syn with: Dom Agius, Errikos Andreu, Barney Ashton, Milijana Babic, Joachim Baldauf, Stefania Bonatelli, Wren Britton, Carolyn Cowan, Fran Dileo, Alexandra Eldridge, Devin Elijah, Manuel Estevez, Roberto Foddai, Al Giga, Frances Goodman, Christophe Haleb, Katharina Hesse, Daniel Holfeld, Kobi Israel, Pascale Lafay, Scooter Laforge, Emiliano Lazzarotto, Mark Mander, Tupac Martir, Katarina Mootich, Michal Ohana-Cole, Maflohé Passedouet, Petra Reimann, Ricci/Forte, Pato Rivero, Yvonne De Rosa, Mauro Santucci, Iris Schieferstein, Erick Soler, Tapio Snellman, Wolfgang Stiller, Christopher Stribley and Cyrille Weiner.

Sat Nov 03, 2007 00:00 - Thu Nov 08, 2007

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

UNBOUND
03 NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 13 2007
Contemporary Art Platform, London

Contemporary art exhibition inspired by freedom. Curated by Predrag Pajdic with: Justin Allen/Switch Theatre, Oreet Ashery, Yasmeen Al Awadi, Barney Ashton, Tim Blake, Nemanja Cvijanovic, Martin Effert, Wendy Faucheaux Dolan, Sagi Groner, Emily Jacir, Vesna Milicevic, Jean Gabriel Periot, Michael Petry, Nada Prlja, Santiago Sierra, Penny Siopis, Emily Stainer & Judith Witteman

Exactly 200 years ago slavery was abolished in Britain. Big celebrations have been staged all over the United Kingdom with thousands of pounds spent in order to do so.

In fact and in reality, there is not a region in the world free of this gruesome act, including the United Kingdom.

So what was really abolished 200 years ago?

What are we celebrating?

Who invented slavery in the first place?

These are just some of the reasons why UNBOUND has been created. The group exhibition with international artists, including conceptual work, photography, video, film, installations, live performances and interventions was launched on Friday the 2nd of November 2007 at Contemporary Art Platform, London. UNBOUND is contemporary art project about FREEDOM not SLAVERY !!!

Contemporary Art Platform
1 Thane Villas
London N7 7PH
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)77 344 340 66
Free admission
Opening hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 12.00 - 17.00
The nearest tube station: Finsbury Park (Victoria & Piccadilly lines)
Buses: 4, 19, 29, 153, 253, 254, 259

For an open public debate please visit: http://www.myspace.com/unbound\_exhibition

Mon Aug 20, 2007 00:00 - Mon Aug 20, 2007

AVENGE BUT ONE OF MY TWO EYES
by AVI MOGRABI
Israel/France 2005, 100 minutes

"Avenge but one of my two eyes is one of the great essayistic films of modern times" - Mark Cousins (author, The Story of Film)

During the last week of RECOGNISE exhibition there will be a special screening of Avi Mograbi's remarkable film Avenge But One of My Two Eyes on Sunday 2nd September 2007, 4pm at the Contemporary Art Platform, London.

Shot in the Occupied Territories by Israeli director Avi Mograbi, this controversial documentary film draws parallels between the Israeli - Palestinian situation today and the enduring myths of Samson and Masada. Mograbi offers a powerful, at times chilling, lament of the continuing cycles of violence rooted in the past and threatening to engulf everyone's future. With the roots of so much real-world conflict left unexamined by today's restless media, this film reminds us just how vital filmmakers like Avi Mograbi are.

Documentary today is rarely immersed in questions of this magnitude - or tackles them with the level of eloquence shown here by Mograbi. An exceptional and challenging film.

Contemporary Art Platform
1 Thane Villas, London N7 7PH
United Kingdom
077 344 340 66
Sunday 2nd September at 4pm