a forest and a tree
15 Mar - 14 Apr 2007
a forest and a tree
Thurs 15.03.2007 – Sat 14.04.2007
Opening: Wed 14.03.2007
Artists: Yael Bartana, Phil Collins, Esra Ersen, Jakup Ferri, Emily Jacir, Ahmet Ogut, Sislej Xafa
Curator: Pelin Uran
Within the last 20 years, the interest of the art world in the ‘other’ has caused artists from non-Western cultures to highlight their identity and cultural origins and to locate themselves within that arena. Theories and practices that inflated the importance of cultural criteria assumed that racial or cultural difference was essential to empower these artists. However, attributing a different social and historical space to non-Western artists has marked them as ‘others’. A forest and a tree challenges the current practice of reading the works of non-Western artists through the filter of national, ethnic or cultural origins. This exhibition seeks alternative interpretations of these works that are more constructive in perceiving the relationship between the self and the other. These works are shown together to demonstrate the aesthetic and intellectual ground they share.
Thurs 15.03.2007 – Sat 14.04.2007
Opening: Wed 14.03.2007
Artists: Yael Bartana, Phil Collins, Esra Ersen, Jakup Ferri, Emily Jacir, Ahmet Ogut, Sislej Xafa
Curator: Pelin Uran
Within the last 20 years, the interest of the art world in the ‘other’ has caused artists from non-Western cultures to highlight their identity and cultural origins and to locate themselves within that arena. Theories and practices that inflated the importance of cultural criteria assumed that racial or cultural difference was essential to empower these artists. However, attributing a different social and historical space to non-Western artists has marked them as ‘others’. A forest and a tree challenges the current practice of reading the works of non-Western artists through the filter of national, ethnic or cultural origins. This exhibition seeks alternative interpretations of these works that are more constructive in perceiving the relationship between the self and the other. These works are shown together to demonstrate the aesthetic and intellectual ground they share.