Political Statement
Posted on January 28 2022
+
Author Silvia Colombo
.
.
Political Statement │ January 21st - February 16th, 2022
.
.
By stepping back and going straight to the etymology of the word “politics”, one realises that it encompasses everything that, somehow, deals with the society we live in. Therefore the government and its decisions, as well as more personal issues touching the private or, more widely, the relational sphere are a part of it.
The first exhibition organised by LoosenArt in 2022, arranged at the Spazio Millepiani in Rome and entitled “Political statement” refers precisely to this universe made of contrasts, reports and declarations that are sometimes whispered, sometimes shouted. The photographs, the digital pieces and the videos here exhibited weave a complex narration depicting socio-political scenarios from all over the world.
If one traces an imaginary line guiding us through the exhibition from a macro- to a micro-perspective, we can clearly identify an outdoor scene that is universal and abstract as a starting point. It is a universe centred around themes such as the legacy of dictatorships, considered through the lens of memory and history. The past is observed through its material remains: monuments, iconic portraits and, in general, through the cultural heritage that has survived the damnatio memoriae. This topic, encountered by various cultures, raises considerations and poses questions such as: how do we relate to a painful and uncomfortable past? The response stays open - it is our responsibility to find a suitable answer.
The first exhibition organised by LoosenArt in 2022, arranged at the Spazio Millepiani in Rome and entitled “Political statement” refers precisely to this universe made of contrasts, reports and declarations that are sometimes whispered, sometimes shouted. The photographs, the digital pieces and the videos here exhibited weave a complex narration depicting socio-political scenarios from all over the world.
If one traces an imaginary line guiding us through the exhibition from a macro- to a micro-perspective, we can clearly identify an outdoor scene that is universal and abstract as a starting point. It is a universe centred around themes such as the legacy of dictatorships, considered through the lens of memory and history. The past is observed through its material remains: monuments, iconic portraits and, in general, through the cultural heritage that has survived the damnatio memoriae. This topic, encountered by various cultures, raises considerations and poses questions such as: how do we relate to a painful and uncomfortable past? The response stays open - it is our responsibility to find a suitable answer.
.
.
Sadie Sanders, I Pledge Allegiance to Thee, Texas, 2020
.
.
To some extent connected to these topics are also the artworks dealing with the danger of political activism in certain areas of the world. The pictures and videos framing violent clashes with police and established power highlight the dark side of politics discouraging dissent.
Exile, then, is one of its most immediate consequences - when one is forced to leave the country in case of personal or political danger. Within this context, some artists decided to address the issue through a poetic and poignant ‘sociology of absences’. The memory of those who are no longer in their homeland is perpetrated through a visible absence, a faded presence - personal and collective memories overlap.
On a subtle line lies the photographic and video documentation made at and about the geographic border, considered as a non-place where a social, political and economical separation takes place. The border thus becomes a point with no identity nor transpassing possibilities.
Exile, then, is one of its most immediate consequences - when one is forced to leave the country in case of personal or political danger. Within this context, some artists decided to address the issue through a poetic and poignant ‘sociology of absences’. The memory of those who are no longer in their homeland is perpetrated through a visible absence, a faded presence - personal and collective memories overlap.
On a subtle line lies the photographic and video documentation made at and about the geographic border, considered as a non-place where a social, political and economical separation takes place. The border thus becomes a point with no identity nor transpassing possibilities.
Fanny Beckman, I Just Slipped, 2016
.
.
At this point, the exhibition path embraces a more and more marked inner state and it is interesting to note that political decisions are reflected in the households, where we live day after day. Photoreportages - usually associated with a two-tone color-scheme, black and white - capture scenes set in neglected places, forgotten by the whole society. The result is a series of images portraying the daily suffering of people trying to dignify their poor conditions.
Nowadays, we often witness an oxymoron where households are transformed into emotional prisons from which it is difficult to escape. A worn wallpaper becomes the metaphor for human suffering, while pictures portraying bruised bodies denounce domestic abuses and assaults that too often are withheld.
A room is the place where strong and complicated relationships are consumed and our inner self is the most secluded point, where a lot of battles are fought - battles about cultural inequalities, new identities and about forced adjustments.
“Political statement” is a group exhibition where the representation of the ordinary and its opposite literally occupies the exhibition space, letting the rooms become a place where there are no inequalities, diversities nor exclusions.
Nowadays, we often witness an oxymoron where households are transformed into emotional prisons from which it is difficult to escape. A worn wallpaper becomes the metaphor for human suffering, while pictures portraying bruised bodies denounce domestic abuses and assaults that too often are withheld.
A room is the place where strong and complicated relationships are consumed and our inner self is the most secluded point, where a lot of battles are fought - battles about cultural inequalities, new identities and about forced adjustments.
“Political statement” is a group exhibition where the representation of the ordinary and its opposite literally occupies the exhibition space, letting the rooms become a place where there are no inequalities, diversities nor exclusions.
.
.
Louella, Keeping an Eye on Mexico, 2015
.
.
Victoria Crayhon, Untitled, Los Angeles California, 2017
.
.
.
.
John Nasr, The Luminary Paradise, 2021
.
.
Valeria Arendar, Two Times María, 2021
.
.
.
.
Political Statement Exhibition Catalog
.
.
.
.
-
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
-
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
POLITICAL STATEMENT
January 21st, 2021 - February 16th, 2022
Millepiani - Via N. Odero,13, Rome - IT
linfo@millepiani.eu
+39 06.888.17.620
.
-
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Connect