At a time of crisis (AUDI Art Award artworks)
Balaskas, Bill (2013) At a time of crisis (AUDI Art Award artworks). [Exhibition/show, Video]
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This body of research focuses on the cultural and political origins and implications of the global economic crisis of 2007-2013, through the production of three new artworks. Re: Evolution is an imaginary flag combining the Soviet flag with the design of a computer; Culture is a neon sign using antique lettering whose power cable is too short to reach the nearest socket; and Opus 2012, Symphony No.27 (‘Europa’) is a video that employs official footage from the European Parliament and likens Europe to an orchestra tuning without ever initiating a performance. In a precarious context for global societies, the works are intended to highlight the contradictions inherent in the current condition, by using elements of irony, humour and kitsch. The three artworks employ different media and materials (neon, fabric and video) alongside diverse symbols and cultural references, in order to create a hybrid visual language. They were nominated, as a body of work, for the 2013 AUDI Art Award for the most innovative young artist. The award is supported by the German Federal Government, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Art Cologne (Koelnmesse) and the Bundesverband Deutscher Galerien und Editionen (BVDG). Two of the works (Culture and Re: Evolution) have been developed further and are currently being shown in the main exhibition of the 4th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art (central exhibition Everywhere But Now, curated by Adelina von Fürstenberg, 18 Sept. 2013 – 31 Jan. 2014: http://www.thessalonikibiennale.gr). My aim in redeveloping them was to further engage with the context of the Greek socioeconomic crisis and its connections with current political conditions in the Mediterranean region.
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