Change and Coexistence as principle
"House of Commons"
03.12.2016 - 29.01.2017/ Portikus, Frankfurt am Main
With: Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Fikret Atay, Sven Augustijnen, Monika Baer, Yto Barrada, Eric Baudelaire, Rossella Biscotti, Mohamed Bourouissa, Banu Cennetoglu, Keren Cytter, Michael Dean, Claire Fontaine, Ferenc Grof, Shadi Habib Allah, Roni Horn, Kapwani Kiwanga, Jonathan Monk, Charlotte Posenenske, Bruno Serralongue, The Propeller Group & Superflex, Dahn Vo
Throughout its duration, "House of Commons" changes constantly and thus sees itself less as a static group exhibition than as a dynamic project.
Not only this unusual concept of this exhibition, but also the exhibition architecture made me visiting this twice. Indeed you need to visit this exhibition at least seven times to read the whole exhibition "Chapters".
The name of the exhibition is borrowed from the architecture of the British House of Commons, in which the members of the majority party sit across from the representatives of the opposition. The Frankfurt architect Paul Bauer took up this idea, which was first implemented in the Curia Julia of the Roman Senate in 29 BC,...thus, the architecture reflects the direct confrontation of two positions, positions, or views and creates a space in which art works and bodies can always relate to each other.
The idea of British House of Commons is also interwoven with the total concept of the exhibition: the changing and re-configurating lineup.
Each chapter has a time duration. The shortest one (two days) to the longest one of ca.18 days. The Artists of a chapter can be shown more than in one chapter.
Interesting is following statement from the organiser, where one frames the grounding idea for this exhibition: a reaction to the political events of recent months in Europe and the United States.
In this way, Portikus takes a political stance, argues through art, and using the simple gesture of juxtaposition emphasizes the importance of dialogues and engagement with opposing opinions for our common coexistence.
The works of Michael Dean captured my wondering sight.
The magazines of Sven Augustijnen reminded me of a museum vitrine or a platform for informations.
The eye-catcher of the exhibition is absolutely this one I guess.
This exhibition transforms the idea of the way of presenting one's opinion in the politic to the one in the culture.
Probably in this way it is more about the ways and strategies.
Installation view from the 6. Chapter
Dahn Vo, We The People (2011) (Foot)
from the 3. Chapter
With several Chapters this exhibition tries to present different artistic positions, where the recent political and social issues are reflected in.
Amalgams of various materials & genres.
Installation view from the 6. Chapter
Von oben nach Unten (Links nach Rechts):
Yto Barrada, Majdoub Appliqué Flag No. 60, No. 48, No. 18, 2016
Claire Fontaine, White Trash Brick Bat, 2016
zwei Arbeiten von Michael Dean, Video von Saadi Habib Allah, Saga'a, 2015
Sven Augustijen
Michael Dean, Analogue Serie (muscle), 2014
Michael Dean, hnnnhhnnn-hnnnhnnnnh, 2014
Sven Augustijnen, Imbéciles de tous les pays, unissez-vous!, 2016-ongoing
I started to put these two things in relation: A kind of decoration, a thing from nature or something which is banded by someone and the book (More precisely a dictionary, which is written in the combination of h & n, association with humming, rhythms and reading out..)
(23 Ballons, some of them are filled with helium gas)