Agnieszka Kalinowska
17 Apr - 14 Jun 2009
MUMOK Factory: AGNIESZKA KALINOWSKA
"Draughty House "
17.04.–14.06.09
Curator: Edelbert Köb
Opening: April 16, 2009–7.00 p.m.
Agnieszka Kalinowska (b. 1971) is one of the most successful artists of her generation in Poland. At the MUMOK Factory, she will be showing three videos and a sculpture, including a video installation that was created especially for the exhibition addressing the situation of asylum-seekers.
Kalinowska’s works often deal with human behavior in extreme situations: 'If our life was an action movie, I would only focus on those moments where we show our strength and resiliency (...) where we resort to our sheer superhuman capacity to solve problems.'
In her most recent project the video Draughty House (2009) – which is also the title of her exhibition – the protagonists are asylum-seekers who have all fled to Austria for a variety of reasons. They talk about their respective pasts, about how they got to where they are and their expectations and dreams about what is to come. While they are talking, a fence-shaped sculpture (The Fence, 2009) divides the video from the audience. The fence hides the videos while at the same time suggesting a kind of transformative growth, making reference to the contradictory situation the protagonists are in. Object and video create a mixture of visual and intellectual points of reference reflected in the different forms of expression.
"Draughty House "
17.04.–14.06.09
Curator: Edelbert Köb
Opening: April 16, 2009–7.00 p.m.
Agnieszka Kalinowska (b. 1971) is one of the most successful artists of her generation in Poland. At the MUMOK Factory, she will be showing three videos and a sculpture, including a video installation that was created especially for the exhibition addressing the situation of asylum-seekers.
Kalinowska’s works often deal with human behavior in extreme situations: 'If our life was an action movie, I would only focus on those moments where we show our strength and resiliency (...) where we resort to our sheer superhuman capacity to solve problems.'
In her most recent project the video Draughty House (2009) – which is also the title of her exhibition – the protagonists are asylum-seekers who have all fled to Austria for a variety of reasons. They talk about their respective pasts, about how they got to where they are and their expectations and dreams about what is to come. While they are talking, a fence-shaped sculpture (The Fence, 2009) divides the video from the audience. The fence hides the videos while at the same time suggesting a kind of transformative growth, making reference to the contradictory situation the protagonists are in. Object and video create a mixture of visual and intellectual points of reference reflected in the different forms of expression.