Aesthetics of the Political: Institutional Critique
In conversation with Banu Cennetoğlu
In this episode Samah Hijawi is in conversation Banu Cennetoğlu from Turkey, whose practice incorporates methods of collecting and archiving, and inquires into the politics of the production, classification, and distribution of knowledge.
Their conversation navigates through her works Being Safe Is Scary(2017) The List (2006-ongoing), Gurbet’s Diary (27.07.1995–08.10.1997) (2016–17), and Pavilion II, Within Limits 1921–1995 (2010), to explore how she delicately balances her position in relation to the materials she is working with, and at the same time implicates the institutions who host her, to become stakeholders in the socially and politically pertinent issues that her works bring to the table.
Banu Cennetoğlu is an artist based in Istanbul. Her practice incorporates methods of collecting and archiving and enquires into the politics of the production, classification, and distribution of knowledge. Her most recent work, Made in Fall. . . (2018), is a 127-hour-long film comprising a chronological and unedited archive of all the digital images she has amassed since 2006. Cennetoğlu is also a facilitator for The List, an ongoing collaboration with UNITED for Intercultural Action, a human rights NGO based in Europe. The List traces information relating to the deaths of more than 40.000 people who have lost their lives within or at the borders of Europe due to state policies since 1993. Cennetoğlu partners with institutional collaborators to make this list visible through public display structures such as billboards, street posters, and newspaper supplements. Cennetoğlu is the founder of BAS, an Istanbul-based, artist-run space dedicated to artists’ books and printed matter. In 2016 she was a guest at the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program. Solo exhibitions include: K21 Ständehaus, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf (2019); Sculpture Center, New York (2019); Chisenhale Gallery, London (2018); Selected group exhibitions include: Actually, the Dead Are Not Dead, Bergen Assembly 2019; Beautiful world, where are you?, Liverpool Biennale (2018); documenta 14, Athens and Kassel (2017).
In this episode Samah Hijawi is in conversation Banu Cennetoğlu from Turkey, whose practice incorporates methods of collecting and archiving, and inquires into the politics of the production, classification, and distribution of knowledge.
Their conversation navigates through her works Being Safe Is Scary(2017) The List (2006-ongoing), Gurbet’s Diary (27.07.1995–08.10.1997) (2016–17), and Pavilion II, Within Limits 1921–1995 (2010), to explore how she delicately balances her position in relation to the materials she is working with, and at the same time implicates the institutions who host her, to become stakeholders in the socially and politically pertinent issues that her works bring to the table.
Banu Cennetoğlu is an artist based in Istanbul. Her practice incorporates methods of collecting and archiving and enquires into the politics of the production, classification, and distribution of knowledge. Her most recent work, Made in Fall. . . (2018), is a 127-hour-long film comprising a chronological and unedited archive of all the digital images she has amassed since 2006. Cennetoğlu is also a facilitator for The List, an ongoing collaboration with UNITED for Intercultural Action, a human rights NGO based in Europe. The List traces information relating to the deaths of more than 40.000 people who have lost their lives within or at the borders of Europe due to state policies since 1993. Cennetoğlu partners with institutional collaborators to make this list visible through public display structures such as billboards, street posters, and newspaper supplements. Cennetoğlu is the founder of BAS, an Istanbul-based, artist-run space dedicated to artists’ books and printed matter. In 2016 she was a guest at the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program. Solo exhibitions include: K21 Ständehaus, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf (2019); Sculpture Center, New York (2019); Chisenhale Gallery, London (2018); Selected group exhibitions include: Actually, the Dead Are Not Dead, Bergen Assembly 2019; Beautiful world, where are you?, Liverpool Biennale (2018); documenta 14, Athens and Kassel (2017).
In Conversation with Katleen Vermeir and Ronny Heiremans
In this episode Hijawi is in conversation with Katleen Vermeir and Ronny Heiremans, an artist duo whose works investigate the complex relationship between art, economy and the built environment in today’s highly globalised world. The conversation navigates between A Modest Proposal (In a Black Box) (2018), Who Owns the Water? To Whom Does Art Belong? (2020) and Art House Index (2006 ongoing), and together they reflect on how these works appropriate the codes and logics of the financial world to better serve the artistic community. They also discuss how their works transition from pieces for display in an exhibition, to more ephemeral engagements that create space and time for conversation towards fair practices in the arts.
Vermeir & Heiremans have exhibited their work for a variety audiences. Nationally (selection): Ici et Maintenant, Brussels (2001); STUK, Louvain (2004); Recyclart, Brussels (2006); Manifesta 9, Genk (2012); Argos, Brussels (2012); Extra City, Antwerp (2012); Triennale Brugge (2015); Staycation, Brussels (2020). Internationally: 10th Istanbul Biennial (2007), Casino Luxemburg (2008); Arnolfini, Bristol (2009); Nam June Paik Art Center; Yongin (2010); Viennale, Vienna (2011); 7th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennial (2012); Riga Art Space (2013); 13th Istanbul Biennale (2013); Stroom, Den Haag (2014); Rotwand Gallery, Zurich (2014); Dojima River Biennale, Osaka (2015); Curated by_Vienna at Georg Kargl Gallery (2015); Transmediale, Berlin (2016); Bucharest Biennale 7 (2016); Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin (2017); Kadist, Paris (2017); Glassyard Gallery, Budapest (2018); Art Brussels (2018); Pump House Gallery, London (2018); Kunsten Museum, Aalborg (2020).
In this episode Hijawi is in conversation with Katleen Vermeir and Ronny Heiremans, an artist duo whose works investigate the complex relationship between art, economy and the built environment in today’s highly globalised world. The conversation navigates between A Modest Proposal (In a Black Box) (2018), Who Owns the Water? To Whom Does Art Belong? (2020) and Art House Index (2006 ongoing), and together they reflect on how these works appropriate the codes and logics of the financial world to better serve the artistic community. They also discuss how their works transition from pieces for display in an exhibition, to more ephemeral engagements that create space and time for conversation towards fair practices in the arts.
Vermeir & Heiremans have exhibited their work for a variety audiences. Nationally (selection): Ici et Maintenant, Brussels (2001); STUK, Louvain (2004); Recyclart, Brussels (2006); Manifesta 9, Genk (2012); Argos, Brussels (2012); Extra City, Antwerp (2012); Triennale Brugge (2015); Staycation, Brussels (2020). Internationally: 10th Istanbul Biennial (2007), Casino Luxemburg (2008); Arnolfini, Bristol (2009); Nam June Paik Art Center; Yongin (2010); Viennale, Vienna (2011); 7th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennial (2012); Riga Art Space (2013); 13th Istanbul Biennale (2013); Stroom, Den Haag (2014); Rotwand Gallery, Zurich (2014); Dojima River Biennale, Osaka (2015); Curated by_Vienna at Georg Kargl Gallery (2015); Transmediale, Berlin (2016); Bucharest Biennale 7 (2016); Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin (2017); Kadist, Paris (2017); Glassyard Gallery, Budapest (2018); Art Brussels (2018); Pump House Gallery, London (2018); Kunsten Museum, Aalborg (2020).
In Conversation with Yazan Al Khalili
In this episode Samah Hijawi is in conversation with Yazan Khalili about how he translates his position into an active critique of power in both his artistic and cultural work. The conversation takes I, The Artwork (2016) as a starting point for mapping out the terrain of critique he engages with, and moves on to explore The total Work of An Institution that framed his previous directorship of the Khalil Sakakini Culture Centre in Ramallah (2015-2019). Yazan reflects on how these experiences affect the projects he works on today including Radio Al Hara, and the idea of ‘non-artwork artist gift shop’ with the participants at the Rijksakademie in The Netherlands.
Born 1981. Lives and works in and out of Palestine. He is an architect, visual artist, and cultural activist. His works have been exhibited in several major exhibitions, including among others: KW, Berlin 2020, MoCA Torento 2020, New Photography, MoMA 2018, Jerusalem Lives, Palestinian Museum, 2017, Post-Peace, Kunstverein Stuttgart 2017, Shanghai Biennial 2016, Sharjah Biennial 2013. He received a degree in architecture from Birzeit University in 2003 and in 2010 received his MA degree from the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmith's College, and in 2015 his MFA degree at Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam. He was one of the founding members of Zan Design Studio (2005-2010), and Radio Alhara (2020). In 2015, he co-organized Walter Benjamin in Palestine workshop and symposium, and has been the director of Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre between 2015 until end of 2019. Currently he is co chair of Photography discipline at the MFA program at Bard College NY, a Phd Candidate at Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, UvA, and guest artist in residence at Rijksakademie, Amsterdam.
In this episode Samah Hijawi is in conversation with Yazan Khalili about how he translates his position into an active critique of power in both his artistic and cultural work. The conversation takes I, The Artwork (2016) as a starting point for mapping out the terrain of critique he engages with, and moves on to explore The total Work of An Institution that framed his previous directorship of the Khalil Sakakini Culture Centre in Ramallah (2015-2019). Yazan reflects on how these experiences affect the projects he works on today including Radio Al Hara, and the idea of ‘non-artwork artist gift shop’ with the participants at the Rijksakademie in The Netherlands.
Born 1981. Lives and works in and out of Palestine. He is an architect, visual artist, and cultural activist. His works have been exhibited in several major exhibitions, including among others: KW, Berlin 2020, MoCA Torento 2020, New Photography, MoMA 2018, Jerusalem Lives, Palestinian Museum, 2017, Post-Peace, Kunstverein Stuttgart 2017, Shanghai Biennial 2016, Sharjah Biennial 2013. He received a degree in architecture from Birzeit University in 2003 and in 2010 received his MA degree from the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmith's College, and in 2015 his MFA degree at Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam. He was one of the founding members of Zan Design Studio (2005-2010), and Radio Alhara (2020). In 2015, he co-organized Walter Benjamin in Palestine workshop and symposium, and has been the director of Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre between 2015 until end of 2019. Currently he is co chair of Photography discipline at the MFA program at Bard College NY, a Phd Candidate at Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, UvA, and guest artist in residence at Rijksakademie, Amsterdam.
In Conversation with Gosie Vervloessem (Belgium)
In this episode Samah Hijawi is in conversation with Brussels-based artist Gosie Vervloessem. The discussion revolves around ‘If a Damaged Heart were to Photosynthetic’ (2020-ongoing) which involves a self-declared residency by squatting a ticket booth in the Royal Botanical Gardens of Brussels, and the video “Hush Hush the Bush” (2018), and her alter-ego ‘The Sick Detective’ (2012-ongoing) . These works explore our relationship to the plant worlds, while subversively revealing how nationalism and the colonial mind set are deeply entrenched in the way we relate to the living worlds around us.
Gosie Vervloessem lives and works in Brussels. Her works are continuously shown in art and cultural spaces in Belgium, and abroad. She studied Pedagogical Sciences at KU Leuven and was later awarded a master’s degree in Audiovisual Arts by the LUCA School of Arts Brussels. In 2014 she followed the Advanced Performance and Scenography Studies program at a.pass, Brussels.
In this episode Samah Hijawi is in conversation with Brussels-based artist Gosie Vervloessem. The discussion revolves around ‘If a Damaged Heart were to Photosynthetic’ (2020-ongoing) which involves a self-declared residency by squatting a ticket booth in the Royal Botanical Gardens of Brussels, and the video “Hush Hush the Bush” (2018), and her alter-ego ‘The Sick Detective’ (2012-ongoing) . These works explore our relationship to the plant worlds, while subversively revealing how nationalism and the colonial mind set are deeply entrenched in the way we relate to the living worlds around us.
Gosie Vervloessem lives and works in Brussels. Her works are continuously shown in art and cultural spaces in Belgium, and abroad. She studied Pedagogical Sciences at KU Leuven and was later awarded a master’s degree in Audiovisual Arts by the LUCA School of Arts Brussels. In 2014 she followed the Advanced Performance and Scenography Studies program at a.pass, Brussels.