No One Belongs Here More Than You

Artists

The Archive of Public Protests
Norman Behrendt
Eiko Grimberg
Barbara Gryka & Filip Kijowski
Juliane Jaschnow
Szabolcs KissPál
Dóri Lazár
Michaela Nagyidaiová
Emília Rigová
Anike Joyce Sadiq
Christina Werner
Jiří Žák

Opening

22 Sep 2022 7 pm

The exhibition continues

23 Sep – 8 Jan 2023

Venue

Trade Fair Palace
The National Gallery in Prague (NGP)
Dukelských hrdinů 47, Prague 7
Tue–Sun, 10 am–6 pm
http://ngprague.cz

Who does belong here? A seemingly simple question seems to be at the heart of much of the current cultural debates, policy-making and social measures. The question of belonging even becomes a threat for various people when they do not fit into the imaginary homogeneous vision of a nation that is advocated for by a growing number of proponents of the extreme right and populism. The central exhibition of the Fotograf Festival presents artistic strategies that recognise this attack on civil rights and liberties, understanding it as symptomatic of the shift from a democratic to an authoritarian political order. Departing from the notion of chronopolitics, the exhibition contests political tendencies that draw a coherent line from a pristine past to an idealised future that must be defended against the supposed threats of diversity, gender sensitivity, and the empowerment of marginalised groups. The presented works of predominantly Central European artists accentuate the historical conditioning of the current repressive tendencies, developing possible forms of resistance by artistic means.

The first section of the exhibition exposes the current manifestations of far-right and populist tendencies together with their political and social implications. In her installation “Something Is Always Left Behind”, Christina Werner brings together various elements from her long-term investigation of political staging, networking, and rhetoric used by right-wing parties and groups. She combines ‘media snapshots’ and strategic rhetoric of the far right with her own observations, illuminating the connection between right-wing tendencies, which take place within the legal context of political parties, and the right-wing terror that happens ‘on the street’. The connection between the political and the public realm is also at the heart of Norman Behrendt’s visual investigation. For “Blueprint”, he was closely observing and photographing details of publicly accessible online content that was published around the Brexit Referendum in 2016. By disassembling and rearranging this imagery, Behrendt focuses on forms of persuasion, language, and visual metaphors, which were strategically used to undermine the democratic process.

Manifold and often conflicting narratives that are built around historically important events are carefully set in relation in Juliane Jaschnow’s video installation “Rekapitulieren” (Recapitulation). A certain place and event – the Battle for the Reichstag in May 1945 – are referenced from various standpoints. A military re-enactment, touristic attraction, educational infotainment, and political demonstration; each of them tells its own version. Jaschnow’s work captures the instrumentalization of history for the sake of contemporary political narratives, opening the second chapter of the exhibition. Drawing on the theory of chronopolitics, the presented artworks give an insight into how particular interest groups legitimise their policies and shape the public sphere based on their interpretation of history. The reconstruction of the Berlin Palace is a case in point. The glorification of Berlin’s Prussian past and the according omission of its colonial history is reinforced by the decision to use parts of the building as a new location for Berlin’s Ethnographic Collection. Eiko Grimberg’s photo-essay “Rückschaufehler” (Hindsight Bias) revolves around this old-new building and does not shy away from following the most rumoured side stories. One of them purports that parts of the original building, which was demolished by the East German authorities in 1950, were used to decorate the monkey enclosure in the Berlin Zoo – the monkey in the related picture doesn’t seem to care about sitting in the ruins of this once again eagerly awaited past. The role of zoological gardens in the construction of national mythology is reflected also in the docu-fiction film “Amorous Geography” by Szabolcs KissPál. Travestying official historical and political narratives, the artist opposes the current embracement of Hungarian far-right history by public institutions. In his second film “The Rise of the Fallen Feather”, KissPál retells the story of Turul, a mythological bird that has become a powerful symbol of Hungarian nationalism. The same bird is represented also in the work of Dóri Lazár. Mocking the naturalised seriousness of museum displays and with playful disrespect, Lazár’s installation “Angry Birds” takes the symbolic and emotional charge of the flying creatures for the national cause ad absurdum.

The constructions of national identity, formed by both symbolic and real landscapes, profoundly influence individuals and their personal histories. This suspenseful relationship is captured in the installation of Michaela Nagyidaiová. “Transient Ties” maps the life journey of the artist’s grandmother who had to escape her homeland due to the Greek Civil War and adapt to the culture of the then socialist Czechoslovakia. Recognising the distinctiveness of identities not merely as a source of distress and dispute but also as an emancipatory and positive force is the starting point of the last section of the exhibition. In his work “DeepReal Havel”, artist Jiří Žák updates a speech delivered by former Czech president Václav Havel through the lens of postcolonial studies, revising historically naturalised power relations. As a performative duo Tajskie Kwiatuszki (Thai Flowers), artists Barbara Gryka and Filip Kijowski enter the public space in colourful costumes to initiate peaceful yet disruptive discussions about LGBTQ+ free zones in Polish cities. More radical opposition to the alarming policies introduced in Poland is documented by the Archive of Public Protest, an online archive that makes visible civic actions and demonstrations that stand in solidarity against discrimination.

The recognition of structural discrimination is also at the heart of Emília Rigová’s work. By stylising herself as the Black Madonna in the photo series “Crossing B(l)ack”, she reflects on her own passing as a non-Roma and, at the same time, (re)presents a provocative and playful homage to a figure with high identification potential for Roma women. Anike Joyce Sadiq also uses her own body, more precisely, her own hand, as a medium to reflect on a collective experience – stress caused by everyday racism. Along with a conversation with psychotherapist Lula Morton Drewes and in the symbolic raising of her fist, the artist overlays resilience and resistance as a possible response.

Artists

Norman Behrendt: Collectors Edition, Blueprint, 2017–20

In his visual investigation “Blueprint, 2017–20”, photographer Norman Behrendt reflects the imagery that has been used during and since the Brexit Referendum to manipulate and spread popular beliefs concerning national pride, Euroscepticism, anxiety, immigration and lack of control. Using a lengthy process, Behrendt transferred the transient imagery, captured from digital sources, into cyanotypes. The collector’s edition of the accompanying artist book, wrapped in tainted Evening Standard's front pages of that time, is on display at the National Gallery. In re-working imagery from digital sources and printed materials, the artist emphasises the conditions of image production and circulation.

Norman Behrendt is a Berlin-based photographer who explores, among others, the visual language of mass media and its influence on political debates and democratic processes.

normanbehrendt.com

Eiko Grimberg: Rückschaufehler, 2011–2020

The term “Rückschaufehler“ [hindsight bias] refers to a memory of one's own prediction distorted by knowledge of the actual outcome of events. Since one does not want to admit how wrong one was once, the prediction is corrected in retrospect. In his long-term project “Rückschaufehler“, Eiko Grimberg observes the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace and deals with layers of German history that go along with it; he uncovers transitions from the Empire to National Socialism, the FRG and GDR, and finally to a reunified Germany. The various urban legends and realities that Grimberg explores in this project have in common the desire for historical correction. There is a certain ‘irony of history’ in the trail of stones. On the other hand, Grimberg documents the irony-free reconstruction of the Berlin Palace as a reference to the Prussian and colonial past, housing Berlin’s ethnographic collection today.

Eiko Grimberg is a photographer who works with text, photography, and video. He often employs the art form of visual essay. Excesses of everyday life constitute a central consideration in many of his works, showing irrational and unresolved moments.

k-strich.de/en/artists/eiko-grimberg

Tajskie Kwiatuszki (Barbara Gryka, Filip Kijowski): Polski obiad jest dla Wszystkich, 2020

In “Polski obiad jest dla Wszystkich” [A Polish Dinner Serves All], the artistic duo goes on a performative journey to Świdnik, the first city in Poland whose council declared itself a zone free from LGBT ideology. Performers disguised as chameleons and engaged in an absurd dialogue with the city dwellers and their public space. Through simple gestures and actions, they invited people to join in. Their energy, colourful costumes, and exaggerated behaviour attracted attention. The situation opened a dialogue. The artistic duo examines what the residents know about the LGBT-free zone laws. Conversations flourish quickly, touching on the topics of freedom, social justice, and also other issues that affect the residents every day.

Basia Gryka and Filip Kijowski have been working as the duo Tajskie Kwiatuszki [Thai Blossoms] since 2020. They are interested in confronting pressing social realities, using the medium of performances, videos and photography. In their performances, the duo Tajskie Kwiatuszki often use playful and humorous elements to open dialogues about discriminatory policies.

Juliane Jaschnow: Rekapitulieren, 2019

In her video installation “Rekapitulieren” [Recapitulate], Juliane Jaschnow sheds light on different attitudes towards the 8 and 9 May 1945–the so-called ‘Battle for the Reichstag’. This day’s commemoration in re-enactments, songs and tourist attractions on the Russian side is contrasted with the documentation of German right-wingers who deny this was an act of liberation. Jaschnow stages the highly nationalist and therefore opposite narratives of the events and their instrumentalization by the far-right. “Rekapitulieren” dissects current and historical image politics and layers of the iconic symbol of the Reichstag. The narratives of this place are deconstructed and its condensed memory becomes legible as a hybrid media setting.

Juliane Jaschnow is an experimental filmmaker and artist, who combines media-savvy, essayistic and poetic approaches. In her multimedia installations, she questions landscape, architecture, and language as metaphors for social-political situations.

julianejaschnow.de

Szabolcs KissPál: From Fake Mountains to Faith (Hungarian Trilogy), 2012–2016

The complex project “From Fake Mountains to Faith (Hungarian Trilogy)” examines the relationship between the development of illiberal Hungarian state policy and the political and cultural philosophy that operates as its ideological basis. It demonstrates how the current re-emergence of ‘revisionist nationalism’ holds a sustained place in politics. Through counter-fictionalisation as its methodology, the project presents an analysis of the formation of national mythologies. It consists of two films: “Amorous Geography” (2012) and “The Rise of the Fallen Feather” (2016), as well as an installation “The Chasm Records” (2016) that presents a fictitious museum setting which is not on display in Veletržní palác. The work establishes interconnections between the three major elements of the state philosophy in question: the symbolism of the ‘ethnic landscape’ and political geography; the romantic historiography of national myths of origin; and Turanism, a re-emerging form of political religion.

Szabolcs KissPál’s artistic practice engages with current social and political circumstances, as well as with the role of the artist in the postsocialist world. He works in various media, including photography, video installation, and public interventions.

fromfakemountainstofaith.eu

Dóri Lázár: Angry Birds 2, 2022

In her work, Dóri Lázár reflects on how plans, interests, and actions of institutions, political parties, trading groups, and religious groups produce different analogies between the nation and its symbols. Her totem-like installation refers to birds that have a strong function in political imagery. The birds are represented as small heroes, put on a pedestal in an imaginary museum. Brought together in an absurd manner, this assembly of significant birds reveals how they have been captured in ideological cages.

Dóri Lázár’s work explores the connection between analogue and digital photography, imagery-making and its spatial presentations, using showcasing-options as a medium as well as a technique. She often combines different elements of her installations, experimenting with their connections and interactions.

Archive of Public Protest (APP), 2019–present

The APP is a platform that brings together visual traces of social activism and grassroots initiatives, opposing not just political decisions but also breaches of democratic norms and human rights. It is a collection of images that constitutes a warning against rising right-wing populism and discrimination in the broadest sense of the term: xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny, and also against the climate crisis. By establishing the Archive, its creators wish to prolong the life of their images, whose existence is usually tied to specific events and ends upon their publication in the press. The APP gathers together photographs in an easily accessible collection, which remains accessible to the public, researchers, artists and activists. Additionally, the Archive’s resources will be available to all users who want to communicate the values with which its creators identify. The APP is also the publisher of the Strike Newspaper.

Among APP member are: Michał Adamski, Marta Bogdańska, Karolina Gembara, Łukasz Głowala, Agata Kubis, Michalina Kuczyńska, Marcin Kruk, Adam Lach, Alicja Lesiak, Rafał Milach, Joanna Musiał, Chris Niedenthal, Wojtek Radwański, Bartek Sadowski, Paweł Starzec, Karolina Sobel, Grzegorz Wełnicki, Dawid Zieliński.

archiwumprotestow.pl

Michaela Nagyidaiová: Transient Ties, 2019–současnost

The long-term project “Transient Ties” explores the process of alienating oneself from one's original cultural identity due to forced migration. It is situated between Greece and Slovakia, and it was originally inspired by a personal story of the artist's grandmother who was born in northern Greece. Her family and herself had to escape their homeland due to the Greek Civil War (1946–1949), without ever being repatriated or returning back. The grandmother's roots were lost once she had to integrate and adapt to the culture of socialist Czechoslovakia. She has never been able to properly reunite with her homeland and Greece continues to represent a mysterious land, from which she was uprooted. This work reflects on the “Greek-ness” she was stripped of, and the “Slovak-ness” she had to embrace, observing the dynamics between the construction of a personal and national identity. Michaela Nagyidaiová is a documentary photographer based in Bratislava. Drawing inspiration from past events, she usually works on long-term personal projects that allow her to combine her photographs with text and archival materials. michaelanagyidaiova.com

Emília Rigová: Crossing B(l)ack, 2017

The photographic series is anchored in the artist’s reflection on her light skin tone, which allows her to pass as non-Romani in the eyes of the dominant society. By stylising herself as a black Madonna, an iconic female character with a strong identification potential for Romani people, she questions the representation of non-white female figures in Central-European cultural canons. In her work, Rigová often draws attention to social groups, who have been systematically omitted from dominant cultural and historical narratives. Visions of the common future of the Romani community, as well as their collective memory, have been a recurring theme in the artist’s oeuvre.

Emília Rigová is a visual artist based in Slovakia. In her installations, performances, and site-specific interventions, she explores ways in which emotions are influenced by particular socio-cultural environments. She is concerned with social stereotypes, Romani identity, and psychological shadows.

emiliarigova.com

Anike Joyce Sadiq: Visited by a Tiger, 2020

Anike Joyce Sadiq explores the vulnerable borders between the self and others. Her performative poetic yet minimalistic conceptual practice draws on the history of relational works and decolonial aesthetics; her installations involve video, sculpture, sound and music as well as text. Thereby questioning not only the idea of an autonomous artwork, but also the idea of an objective point of view and a sovereign self. They create ephemeral situations of alienation, intimacy, inclusion, and exclusion, unfolding the idea of an activated audience.

In her work “Visited by a Tiger”, Anike Joyce Sadiq takes the image of her own fist both as a symbol and as a starting point for rethinking the role of the psychological, neuro-biological self as part of the political struggle against oppression. The work is based on conversations with psychologist Dr Lula Morton Drewes that led the artist to questions about forms of embodied knowledge and to a re-engagement with image-making in and as politics.

anikejoycesadiq.net

Christina Werner: Something is always left behind, 2016–2017

“Something is always left behind” focuses on campaign elements of right-wing European parties and their staging strategies in terms of aesthetics, appearance and statements. The mixed media installation combines work from the two series “The Boys are Back” and “Neues Europa” [New Europe]. Werner began this long-term project in 2010, collecting statements from right-wing politicians and fragments of media coverage and combining them with her own photographs of crime scenes of the racist NSU murders. In this juxtaposition, the rhetoric of the political arena and the physical violence on the streets become legible as interdependent acts and responses.

Christina Werner’s photographic work is characterised by a conscious and sensitive approach to representation and power politics, especially in the context of current migration movements and resurgent nationalism. In her spatial installations, she places her work in a dialogue with the exhibition space and creates a staging that reflects the theatrical nature of political events.

christinawerner.com

Jiří Žák: DeepReal Havel, 2020

In his work “DeepReal Havel”, the artist draws on his long-term interest in capturing local–implying mostly Czechoslovak or Czech–identity in relation to non-European cultures. The work revolves around the speech of Václav Havel, which was delivered by the former Czech president on the occasion of receiving the Indira Gandhi Prize in 1994. In a collaborative process involving researchers Ondřej Horký-Hlucháň and Tomáš Profant, etc. gallery and Jiří Žák, the original text was rewritten based on the insights of postcolonial studies and the historical distance of almost 30 years. The resulting film re-evaluates the thought of a politician who has become an international symbol of the nonviolent defeat of totalitarian Soviet regimes and their transition to capitalist democracy. The theoretically and visually updated reading of Havel’s speech takes distance from the symbolic aura of his persona and adopts a new perspective on the relation between post-Soviet Czech society, Western countries, and non-European others.

Jiří Žák is an artist based in Prague. In his audiovisual works, he often combines documentary, staged, and performative strategies to explore topics related to contemporary visual culture, local history, and postcolonial world order.

jirizak.com