Bucharest Biennale of Young Artists

The Young Artists' Biennial, Bucharest 2006 – 2nd Edition
AWOL, Absent Without Leave
12 October – 16 November, 2006

Curators:
Jenny Brownrigg, Branko Franceschi, Irina Grabovan, Simona Nastac, Oana Tanase

Inspired by the Biennial’s slogan that ‘Art is Always Somewhere Else’, this edition’s theme is ‘Absent Without Leave (AWOL)’.

AWOL is a term which refers to someone who has deserted their post without permission – the person is somewhere else, with thoughts and needs beyond and in opposition to the central point, the institution. In accordance with this, the biennial and artists’ work aim to investigate and create alternative spaces and situations for presenting and experiencing art. This will include work that critiques the ‘institution’, projects that engage with the politics and communities of a particular site, and work that engages with the emotionalism of someone who is AWOL. Above all, AWOL allows for the possibility of art arising out of unexpected discoveries, or unlikely juxtapositions for both artists and audience.

By creating the opportunity where ideas of ‘here’ and ‘somewhere else’ can be explored, the Biennial aims to begin to distinguish the European identity of the capital based on such an exploration of creativity through proposals of alternative spaces for expression, experience, reflection and dialogue.

What happens to art or artists whose practice is always ’somewhere else’? Where are the types of situations, environments and individuals the artists and their art have re-grouped in or with in their quest for alternative forms of presenting art? What are they in opposition to, what have they escaped from, where do they find themselves, what are their new activities?

The selected works explore the dichotomy of absence and presence as alluded to in the phrase ‘Absent Without Leave’. Are individuals ‘lost’ when their position in life is deemed to be AWOL from the ‘norm’ in society? Can the people be the institution? Can an individual change the function of an institution? What do individuals look for when their need is to regroup? What is the identity of an individual in a group?

Artists:

Anca Benera (Romania)

Miranda Blennerhassett (Marea Britanie)

Orsolya Bagala Larsen (Ungaria, traieste si lucreaza in Copenhaga)

Olga Bersan (Republica Moldova)

Alejandro Cesarco (Uruguay, traieste si lucreaza in New York)

Marcus Coates (Marea Britanie)

Simona Denicolai (Italia) & Ivo Provoost (Belgia)

Matthias Deumlich (Germania)

Will Duke (Marea Britanie)

Duo van der Mixt (Romania)

Marjan Denkov (Macedonia)

Igor Eskinja (Croatia)

Mandy Gehrt (Germania)

Guy Gormley & Jack Stubbs Wormell (Marea Britanie)

Per Hüttner (Suedia, traieste si lucreaza in Paris)

Ivana Jaksic (Serbia si Muntenegru)

Miha Knific (Slovenia)

Yuri Lonkoff (Republica Moldava/SUA)

Benoît Maire (Franta)

David Maljkovic (Croatia)

Mamabart (Belgia)

Victor Man (Romania)

Ioana Marinescu (Romania, traieste si lucreaza in Londra) & Robert Fearns (Marea Britanie)

Gili Mocanu (Romania)

Nicoleta Mocanu & Marius Stoica (Romania)

Ivan Moudov (Bulgaria)

Flávia Müller Medeiros (Brazilia, traieste si lucreaza in Londra)

Ciprian Muresan (Romania)

Stuart Murray (Marea Britanie)

Kader Muzaqi (Kosovo)

Lucia Nimcova (Slovacia)

Svitlana Oleshko (Ukraina)

Oksana Pasaiko (Ruthenia)

Olivia Plender (Marea Britanie)

Marion Porten (Germania)

Louisa Preston (Marea Britanie)

Lala Rascic (Bosnia si Herzegovina)

Ulf Saupe (Germania)

Gentian Shkurti (Albania)

Tobias Sternberg (Marea Britanie)

Ed Templeton (SUA)

Alexander Tinei (Republica Moldova)

Florin Tudor & Mona Vatamanu (Romania)

Nikola Uzunovski (Serbia si Muntenegru, traieste si lucreaza in Venetia si Helsinki)

George Vasilache (Romania)

Alexander Valchev & Stefania Yanakieva (Bulgaria)

Alejandro Vidal (Spania)

Borjan Zafirovski (Macedonia)

Alexander Zika (Germania)

Yoke & Zoom/Gavin Wade (Marea Britanie)

Jordan Wolfson (SUA/Germania)

Veronika Zapletalova (Cehia)