Deutsche Version unten
31 May - 14 June 2024
UnSaid
Group exhibition @ DIENSTGEBÄUDE, Töpferstrasse 26, 8045 Zürich
Opening: 31 May 2024, 18.00
With works by Katayoun Karami, Dispatches from Kyiv Biennale, Zhanna Gladko, Sergei Prokofiev, Julia Cimafiejeva, Baltensperger + Siepert, Frances Melhop, Maksim Shved, Serhat Ertuna, Meng Zhang, Lynn Guo, Gleb Choutov, Pomidor Art Collective, Simona Ripkauskaite, Linda Paoli, Deorditsa, Gianni Bandinelli
Curatorial team: Maria Sorensen, Lara Sutter, Lynn Guo, Zahira Mozafari, Frances Melhop, Evgeniia Kostinskaia, Mary Lilith Fischer.
Open during Zurich Art Weekend (7–9 June)
and by appointment: info@oncurating-space.org
Finissage: 14 June 2024, 18.00
OnCurating Project Space @ DIENSTGEBÄUDE
Töpferstrasse 26, Zürich 8045
Katayoun Karami, Scrawl Shredded photographs, 2010, 10 x 15 cm.
“I am attracted to ellipsis, to the unsaid, to suggestion, to eloquent deliberate silence …”
Louise Glück in her 1995 essay „Disruption, Hesitation, Silence“
The group exhibition features work from artists in authoritarian and democratic countries and is a joint reflection on censorship and repressive mechanisms at play. It dwells on the issues of self-censorship, power dynamics and things we often don’t say or simply can’t.
The works on display in the exhibition speak of the aesthetic power of erasures, actively transforming them to take control over actions that could leave one feeling powerless. Through photography, textiles, video, poetry, paintings, and installations the artists turn these enforced silences and erasures into thought provoking, bold, artistic statements and offer space for public debate and intimate exchange.
Artworks
Dispatches is a postcard project organised by M HKA (Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp) within the framework of the Kyiv Biennial 2023 . M HKA has invited 12 artists to each produce a postcard design that can be found at all the venues of the biennial and beyond. It is a modest call to send dispatches from the frontline of one’s own.
dispatch: the sending of someone or something to a destination for a specific purpose.
Visitors are welcome to take as many as they would like free of charge.
Participating artists: Babi Badalov, Oleksandr Burlaka, Uliana Bychenkova, Davyd Chychkan , Jeremy Deller, Experimental Jetset, Mekhitar Garabedian, Shilpa Gupta, Iman Issa, Kaja Kusztra, Marina Naprushkina
https://2023.kyivbiennial.org/eng/program/dispatches-postcard-project
Maksim Shved, What the Wall told me…
The photo series draws attention to a phenomenon known as Zhes-art or communal art. Zhes in Belarusian and Russian refers to municipal state authorities who are tasked with maintaining buildings. This kind of art appeared as a result of the struggle against graffiti and street art inscriptions on the walls of the city. By trying to cover up, hide, and thus censor urban space, public service workers not only unconsciously become participants in the creative process, but also draw even more attention to the hidden messages. The presented fuprematist compositions reflect the current agenda for Belarus in 2020, when the struggle for freedom of expression and basic civil rights reached its historical peak, but faced brutal repressions.
https://www.instagram.com/fuprematism?igsh=MWZzYWRqMGltYzdndA==
Molchat Doma
HD Video, 4 min
The humorous music video features a day in the life of municipal authorities workers tasked with painting over political graffiti that spontaneously appear all over the city.
Katayoun Karami
Scrawl Shredded photographs
Staring at the machine, shredding out the photos,
It feels like here and this very moment a truth or a lie is being slaughtered
Uh…how familiar they look,
Like my shattered memories,
Revolution, Hostage,
American Embassy invaded,
And rooms filled with torn apart documents,
Now why is it so terrifying to put them back together and blow life into them again?
Chop-chop, I have to finish them
No…I’m in hurry, I’m out of time.
Zhanna Gladko, Return of Lilith
HD Video, 4 min
“The video was filmed in December 2020 on the day of the winter solstice, the day that symbolizes the victory of light over darkness when the line between the world of people and otherworldly forces almost disappears. The winter solstice gives rise to a new cycle. The score for the video was written by the composer Julia Mihaly as a part of the musical project “ Voices from Belarus”, the chants of Uxodi/Resign are heard which are to be understood in the context of 2020 Belarusian protests.
Julia Cimafiejeva, Body of Poetess
Audio file of the author’s reading in Belarusian with printed translation in German and English.
Pomidor Art Collective
Hand stitched textile flags based on anti war graffiti and signs found in Moscow. The three flags is a part of their ongoing project SPEECH(LESS) started in the end of 2022. Flags feature portraits of political prisoners in Russia and text-based pieces. SPEECH(LESS) means „mute“ or „having lost the gift of speech due to a traumatic event.” LESS is placed in parentheses because many courageous individuals in Russia are not silent and continue to fight. The Russian authorities are trying to convince everyone that the entire Russia supports the invasion of Ukraine. This is not true. Several laws introduced in Russia after invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 banned the use of words ‚war‘ invasion‘ and ‚attack‘ in relation to the conflict, and criminalized any critique of the Russian army, the state government and the president. Within a few months, people found themselves in a country where any passerby could submit a denunciation for the use of the word ‚war‘, or even ‚peace‘, leading to years of imprisonment.The artworks invite the audience to reflect on their own experiences of propaganda and restrictions on freedom of speech, be that imposed by the state or popular public opinion.
Sergei Prokofiev
Fireworks on the Swamp
2020, HD video, 6 min
Sergei Prokofiev’s video art is a veiled criticism of the language of Russian state power. It shows the wild Russian nature in stark contrast to the turmoil that lurks beneath the fabric of Russian society.
“During my last year at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Moscow I learned that fireworks were used by the Russian state power since the time of the Empire to communicate with the citizens, the people of Russia. You can imagine the grandiose fireworks of state celebrations, fireworks loaded in military cannons, that would also be used during war times. I decided to work with fireworks to invert this state language and use it for my own purposes to activate it in different landscapes to metaphorically liberate them from the Russian state’s power.”
DESERTER
2023, vintage paper 30x15cm 250gsm, burnt graphite plastic, hand printed
The deserter is a figure of absence. This is the one who left, betrayed, who is subject to punishment and oblivion. This is the one who survived and also the one who did not kill others.
Serhat Ertuna
MORR / THE SEAL, 2023, 50 x 50
A list of names of villages and places in Kurdistan, as they used to be called before, barely visible, barely legible, they disappear behind the seal of Atatürk, the seal that ratified the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923.
Their names have been changed since then, turkified! The places, the language, the culture, the life were put under seal.
My Body is Mine and not the Source of Anybody’s Honour, 2019
Two digital collages, 42x92cm
Two collages, composed from web photos, thematize the place of a woman in Islamic societies. They raise the question of a woman‘s freedom in relation to her body, her beliefs or her identity in the straitjacket of a society‘s established power.
20 Minuten Erdogan, 2018
Printed newspaper, 31.8 x 23.7cm
At first glance, it’s out of context, but in fact it represents a post-censorship dystopia! After censorship, all that’s left is the censor, who is the center of everything. As this is a manipulation of an edition of 20 minutes, you can’t really grasp the work; you need to have the newspaper in your hands and leaf through it: all the original texts have remained the same, but all the faces (children, women, men, animals, even in the ads) have been replaced by the face of one person, Erdogan. As the pages go by, a truth emerges: the man of power becomes a comic and satirical figure who has nothing to say but does everything to remain at the center of everything.
https://www.yumpu.com/de/document/read/63107158/20-minuten-erdogan
Jin, Jiyan, Azadî
Work based on a photograph from 1873.
The 1873 photo, a black-and-white studio portrait, shows three married women from Diyabarkir, a Kurd (left), a Muslim (center) and a Christian/Armenian (right). It is perhaps a symbol of coexistence before the Armenian-Assyrian genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.
„One state, one nation, one fatherland, one flag!“, the slogan appears almost everywhere in today’s Turkey, inscribed in history books, on the walls of institutions, and even in large print on mountains. It inevitably calls for the destruction of differences and assimilation, and women are its first victims.
Baltensperger + Siepert
Ways to Escape One’s Former Country
You travel alone.
You are a woman.
You will be raped.
This cannot be avoided.
Bribe the officers.
They will charge 150 USD per person.
Men will still get beaten up. Your husband too.
But after that, they’ll let you pass.
There will be three boats.
Let the other people go ahead.
Board the third boat. You depart last.
Only your boat will make it to Greece.
(excerpt from Ways to Escape One’s Former Country, 2017, p. 86)
Ways to Escape One’s Former Country is based on interviews that Zurich based artist duo Baltensperger + Siepert held with asylum-seekers in Switzerland over a period of three years. In these interviews, they focused on people’s actions before setting out and during their journeys. Baltensperger + Siepert have appropriated the asylum-seekers stories, detached them from the narrating subjects, and formulated them anew as direct procedural instructions.
Invisible Philosophy
Every day for a month, Baltensperger + Siepert hired a day laborer to work for one day in their Beijing studio – not at the job they usually would do, but at intellectual labor. For one day they were employed as philosophers. Instead of working on somebody else’s vision, they were confronted with their own thoughts, visions, utopias, and their personal philosophy of life.
Fifteen of these philosophical writings are published in this book. They offer a multitude of ways to see the world and its cultural interpretations. These philosophical texts are written by Beijing’s day laborers, but they also examine the global phenomenon of people migrating to the metropolises in efforts to support themselves and their families and to establish a better future.
Frances Melhop
Absence #13
British linen, 2.13 m x 2.22 m
Absence #13 consists of an embroidered contour drawing of an empty female body. Floating outside the body are all of the parts we cannot show for various reasons. These parts are currently censored by social media and web platforms that alone decide what constitutes art and what is pornography or self-censored for safety and for other reasons.
The stitched figure is a salute to the 60’s – 70’s Feminist icons who used their body as material for their artwork, in this case the artist is referencing Ana Mendieta and her spaces of bodily absence that she created in her work.
The advances for women made by the 60s and 70s Feminist artists and the overturn of Roe versus Wade case in the USA in 2022, suggests we might be moving backwards, losing some of their hard-won victories, such as autonomy of our own bodies.
MENG Zhang
Binge 2023
graphite, ink, brick 6x11x23 cm
The artwork presents a profound and thought-provoking concept by embedding the relationship between media, censorship, and history into an ordinary brick. Through a unique treatment of the brick’s surface, the artist creates an appearance that is entirely black. However, it is only upon close examination that viewers can reveal the image of a crowd meticulously drawn with graphite powder.
This indiscernible crowd image is sourced from online news, specifically extracted from news coverage of significant contemporary events. The crowd’s image on the black ink surface becomes visible at specific angles due to the special reflective properties of the graphite powder, creating a perceptual illusion regarding information and observation. The artist thereby reveals the phenomenon of „bricklaying“ in Chinese online culture, hinting at the cocoon formed by the chains of official information, second-hand information, and secondary creations in cross-platform information dissemination. Viewers immerse themselves in this cocoon, seemingly equating watching with participating, while in reality, the excess of media information leads most people into an uncontrollable state of „Binge Watching” （Komaglotzen）Within the artwork, the artist conveys a pessimistic stance on the theme of „censorship.“ Censorship is omnipresent, yet often imperceptible, trapping individuals in an unnoticeable straitjacket within the deluge of information.
Lynn Guo
Shanglin Fu 上林赋
Installation / printed calligraphy on rice paper 350cm (Length) x 35 cm (Width) x 200 cm (Height)
„Shanglin Fu“ is an installation art piece that merges poetry and visual art. Measuring five meters in length, delicate printed Chinese calligraphy is suspended in the space, flowing from ceiling to floor like a cascade of words. Penned by Sima Xiangru over 1800 years ago, this poem reveals the beauty of nature while also critiquing political dynamics. During the opening reception the installation has an interactive element, a second poem cut in pieces will have the calligraphy work drawn on by the artist in real time. Viewers are invited to participate by taking a piece of the poem away with them as a memento, only if all participants meet again in the future and reassemble the poem, will it be able to be read.
Beyond its surface depiction of nature, „Shanglin Fu“ also serves as a vehicle for profound political metaphors. Sima Xiangru subtly critiques and reflects upon the political and social circumstances of his era, offering nuanced commentary on power dynamics and governance. In the context of modern society, this ancient masterpiece resonates with the challenges of censorship, highlighting the ongoing struggle for creative freedom amidst external constraints. „Shanglin Fu“ thus stands as a timeless reminder of the importance of challenging societal norms and restrictions in the pursuit of expression and truth.
Simona Ripkauskaite
Say nothing, own nothing and be happy.
HD Video, duration 3 min
This video is about freedom. What is the true meaning of freedom? Does freedom mean happiness? Is it the ability to express yourself freely? Without having to pause, and think? Think twice about what you say or post on social media. In fear to offend someone or get fired from your job or kicked out of university. The list goes on. Just because you have an opinion. Where did the good old freedom of speech go? Freedom of expression. More often than not, we choose to say nothing. Do nothing.
Say nothing, own nothing and be happy.
Gleb Choutov, “Qui” [Quiet Life EP], HD video/audio, 2021
“QUI” is the first part of an experimental project “Quiet Life”, which explores the beauty of darkness. A delicate interplay of light and shadow creates a mysterious atmosphere that is as oppressive as it is also enticing. Macro videography, electronic music composed with analogue synthesisers, and sombre aesthetics invite thoughts of ephemerality and melancholy.
Deorditsa K
A woman artist (she/her) who has anonymised herself by working under a pseudonym. The author identifies herself as a person with fluid nationality, without reference to specific countries.
This can be seen as both self-censorship for her own safety and an act of protest against being labeled based solely on nationality.
The artworks address themes of censorship and canceling by depicting the narrative of LGBTQ bans in the artist’s home country and the state’s use of the church for military propaganda.
Excision
Canvas, oil, threads, 1 x 1 m
The author addresses the issue that delegitimization and subsequent acts of erasure do not leave nothingness but destruction in their wake. This destruction and emptiness remain palpable and speak for themselves. Prohibition often has the opposite effect: it renders the forbidden even more visible, generates interest, empathy, and provides additional context. Prohibition reveals fear of a certain phenomenon, author, or work, and thus can only increase its influence. Together with aggression, it reveals the weakness of the prohibiting system.
Trying in vain
Canvas, photocopy of texts, acrylic, marker, 1 x 1 m
Authoritarian governments are attempting to use the church for propaganda purposes. They try to manipulate sacred texts to justify their actions. They selectively take words out of context to promote their own agenda. But no matter how much they try to exploit the church for their purposes, the original text always remains, and sooner or later, it will be restored.
Linda Paoli
“Confessione” e “Chiedo” ( “Confession” and “I Plead”)
Poems on A4 paper & Watercolor Paintings 20×16 cm
In ‚Confession‘ and ‚I Plead,’ poetry and watercolor paintings jointly venture into the unexplored realm of romantic erotica, challenging cultural and religious norms that often shroud such intimate narratives. Within the Western context, the prevalent portrayal of forceful and objectifying eroticism towards women becomes a focal point, exposing the stereotypes perpetuated by societal structures.
Gianni Bandinell
Il Muro (The Wall)
Acrylic mixed with Ferrone earth pigments on canvas 80cm x 80cm
Employing a fusion of acrylics and Ferrone earth pigments, the artist creates a textured and earthy ambiance, bringing forth a tangible representation of limitations. The canvas itself transforms into a metaphorical embodiment of the constraints that individuals often grapple with.
Within this textured narrative, the theme of censorship emerges as a formidable barrier, impeding the unrestricted flow of thought. It echoes the frequent scenario where daring individuals express ideas challenging established norms, only to face swift intervention by censorship. The censor, donned as an arbiter, dictates what is deemed virtuous or objectionable. This decision-making process is often skewed towards the interests of those in power, neglecting the greater good of nature and all living beings.
Biographies
Katayoun Karami was born in December 1967 in Tehran, where she currently lives and works. In her artistic endeavors, she embraces the use of commonplace language and symbols for presentation, while also seeking to transcend the traditional boundaries of the medium through experimental methods.Katayoun navigates her lived experience delicately, weaving irony into her artwork as an Iranian artist operating on the edge of fear in her current societal context.
Julia Cimafiejeva is the author of four poetry collections, her poems have been translated into many languages and appeared in different projects, anthologies and magazines, including Poetry International, Literary Hub, Financial Times, Lyrikline, and others. Her German book “Zirkus” (translated by Thomas Weiler and Tina Wünschmann) was published in Berlin in 2019 and her poetry collection in English “Motherfield” ( a poet’s insistence on self-determination in authoritarian, patriarchal Belarus) came out in 2022.
Maksim Shved was born in Minsk, Belarus. After studying politics at the University he made a career change at 33 and began studying filmmaking. His debut documentary “Pure Art” premiered at Krakow film festival , won the best director at “ArtDocFest in 2019 and since then several prizes at world festivals. In August 2020 he was detained during the shooting of his documentary about presidential elections in Belarus. He turned this episode into the short documentary “What will we do tomorrow?” which premiered on the Guardian website. His works comprise documentary films and photo series.
Zhanna Gladko is a graduate of the Republican College of Arts in Minsk and the Department of Easel Graphics at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts. Since 2010, she has been involved in a variety of professional activities including numerous exhibitions. In her artistic works, Gladko explores various societal issues through her private experiences and by means of photography, installations, text, video, painting and other visual techniques.
Sergey Prokofiev is a Russian contemporary artist working in various mediums ranging from video works to sculptures, 3D prints, performances and installations. His art highlights various social issues and he is an outspoken critic of Putin’s regime. Since the beginning the war he has been working in exile in various countries. He won a Solo Prize for his video work Fireworks on the Swamp at Kunsthall Charlottenburg , one of Denmark biggest art institutions. The cancelation of his exhibition and its subsequent re-installing served as a basis for a big debate in Denmark in spring 2022 on the subject of boycotting Russian culture and artists.
Meng Zhang, born in Shan Dong, China is a Chinese artist based in Italy and holds degrees from the Central Academy of Fine Arts Beijing (CAFA) and the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze. Trained extensively in traditional painting techniques in China, he actively cultivated his unique visual language within the contemporary art scene during his time in Italy. In his artistic pursuits, Zhang Meng views images as symbolic representations of societal dynamics, believing that painting today extends beyond mere image production. By framing painting within the logical structure of linguistics, he draws parallels between the systems in art and those present in diverse practical aspects of human society.
Serhat Ertuna, a Kurdish artist, was born in Turkey in 1981. He is an outspoken advocate for human rights and the rights of the Kurds. In 2015, he was granted refugee status in Switzerland. He studied Fine Arts at the Zurich University of the Arts, graduating with a master’s degree in June 2022. Since then, he has been working as a freelance artist. Serhat Ertuna deals with issues of equality, freedom and identity in today’s societies. His artistic work – mainly photographs, collages, videos and installations – questions migration, power and the administrative machinery.
Pomidor Art Collective was formed in Moscow by the artist duo Polina and Maria. The artworks are characterised by their social orientation and exploration of the relationship between individuals and authoritarian states. In late 2022, artists relocated to the UK as it became impossible to express oneself and continue their practice due to the dramatic change in legislation in Russia severely limiting artistic freedom.
Swiss based artists Stefan Baltensperger and David Siepert have been working collaboratively since 2007. With their artistic practice, Baltensperger + Siepert critically reflect on social, cultural, and political issues. They immerse themselves into systems, aiming to make them visible and to manipulate them. The focus of their work lies within ‘the political’ and the understanding of cultural and social structures.
Gleb Choutov is a media artist and musician born in Belarus. He studied at the Art Academies of Minsk and Düsseldorf as well as at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. In 2004, he was the recipient of the Nam June Paik Award. In his work, he likes to synthesise abstract visuals and sounds to create strange, dark and deep audiovisual landscapes. His electronic music was released in the UK, the USA and in Switzerland, among other places. He lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Molchat Doma is a Belarusian post-punk band from Minsk formed in 2017. They have been wildly successful performing at Coachella, having hundred thousands of Spotify listens and are currently based in LA.
Frances Melhop is a multidisciplinary visual artist born in Christchurch, New Zealand, living and working at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. She works in tactile mediums such as photography, printmaking, hand embroidery, sculpture and oil paint questioning and framing her perceptions of the world. Frances is an award-winning photographer with a decades long career in fashion photography and has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions worldwide.
Lynn Guo, born in Inner Mongolia, is a Chinese-Australian artist, curator, and co-founder of TIAC (The International Arts & Culture Group), currently based in Florence, Italy. Grounded in classical figurative painting and contemporary art curation, Lynn’s work explores captivating narratives of inner exploration, fueled by relentless curiosity. Lynn has actively participated in numerous exhibitions across Europe, Australia, and China, recently winning the first prize in the XIV Florence Biennale.
Simona Ripkauskaite is a final year student in the media department at NCAD, Ireland. She is originally from Lithuania, the country that was suppressed by Soviets for many decades and is well aware of the importance of freedom.
Linda Paoli is an artist currently based in Florence. Holding a diploma from the Institute of Art for Ceramics and a degree in Visual Arts and New Expressive Languages with a focus on Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Linda recently delved into digital manipulation, creating captivating worlds through layered digital collages. Notable achievements include winning the Florence Prize for Visual Arts in 2021 and being a finalist in Visual Arts for Photography in 2022.
Gianni Bandinelli, a Chianti native, is a globally inspired artist known for seamlessly blending nature into his distinctive creations. With exhibitions across Italy, Gianni emphasizes nature, society, and beauty. In Greve in Chianti, he curated ‚Arti nel Bosco‘ (Arts in the Wood), highlighting environmental stewardship.
Deorditsa K.
A woman artist (she/her) who has anonymised herself by working under a pseudonym. The author identifies herself as a person with fluid nationality, without reference to specific countries. This can be seen as both self-censorship for her own safety and an act of protest against being labeled based solely on nationality. The author has experience in creative writing and works at the intersection of form and expressive communication.
Artist Biographies of Dispatches
The artistic practice of Oleksandr Burlaka (b. 1982, Kyiv) encompasses photography, research-based work, and installation, using these mediums to examine history, architecture, and urban planning and how they were transformed in Ukrainian context.
Kaja Kusztra is a Warsaw based designer and artist. She teaches Visual Communication at Kraków Academy of Fine Arts and is a co-founder and member of „Sunflower” Solidary Community Center, an emergency support initiative set up with administrative and organisational support of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, during the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Babi Badalov expresses his ideas through visual poetry, art objects, installations and live performances. Badalov’s visual poetry often takes the form of a diary, created daily through a combination of his linguistic research of manipulated pictorial material, typically exploring larger geopolitical questions.
Marina Naprushkina is an artist, feminist and activist. Naprushkina mostly works outside of institutional spaces, in cooperation with communities and activist organisations. She focuses on creating new formats, structures, and organisations based on self-organisation, which overlap theory and practice. 2007, Naprushkina founded the Office for Anti-Propaganda concentrating on power structures in nation-states such as contemporary Belarus, and in 2013 she initiated the initiative Neue Nachbarschaft/Moabit in Berlin. Naprushkina teaches at the Universität der Künste Berlin.
Davyd Chychkan is a Kyiv-based artist who is consistently developing a critical approach in art, turning his own artistic practice into an instrument for society’s transformation. He mainly works with such media as graphics, painting, street-art and performance.
Iman Issa is an artist and a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.
Jeremy Deller studied Art History at the Courtauld Institute and at Sussex University. Deller won the Turner Prize in 2004 and represented Britain in the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013.
Shilpa Gupta studied sculpture at the Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai, from 1992 to 1997. Her work has been shown at, and is in the collection of: the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Centre Pompidou, Kiran Nadar Museum, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Mori Museum, M HKA, and Jameel Arts Center amongst others.
Uliana Bychenkova is an audio and visual artist, designer, curator and researcher. Her current interest lies between intersections of Feminist and Intermedia studies.
Mekhitar Garabedian is a Belgian-Syrian artist with Armenian roots. He works on a diverse but coherent oeuvre that includes drawings, text, installations, photographs, sculptures, sound works and neon. His work alludes to the language, culture and history of Armenia, the country his grandparents fled in 1915 to escape the genocide.