The exhibition "IN THE FOREIGN. Aspects of Migration" at Kaunas Picture Gallery presents nine artistic positions from Germany - Hörner/Antlfinger, Ulrike Kessl, Aurelia Mihai, Joanne Moar, Neringa Naujokaite, Gerlinde Salentin, Gudrun Teich, Myriam Thyes, Petr Zubek - with works that deal with the topic of migration from various angles. It shows installations, sculptural objects, videos, large-format drawings, and photographs.
Hörner/Antlfinger's SARAJEVO TIME TRAVEL AGENCY takes visitors on an imaginary journey through Sarajevo. In her database BECOMING GERMAN, Joanne Moar collects childhood memories from Germany and "lends" them to new citizens with a migration background who did not grow up in Germany. Gudrun Teich's HEIMATFILM deals with clichés of homeland. MIGRATION FLAGS by Myriam Thyes shows Flash-animated transformations of national flags as a motif of international relations – migration, politics, tourism, cultural influence. Gerlinde Salentin's work LICHTFELD was created in Jerusalem and consists of beeswax objects and transparent photo foils inlaid in beeswax. The photos were taken in the Arab and Jewish quarters of the Old City and describe the theme of migration. In CORPUS MUNDI, Aurelia Mihai deals with the invisible connection between people and places. The project questions the way we treat our fellow human beings and becomes a visual metaphor for humanity. Refugee camps are associated with ZELTKAPSEL by Ulrike Kessl. However, the capsule is firmly closed with zippers and installed out of reach, under the ceiling. In the 30-meter-long drawing on canvas BLACK & WHITE, Petr Zubek is inspired by experiences from his travels through Africa, south of the Sahara (Cameroon, Tanzania). Fences, grids, walls or barbed wire are in the foreground of the photographs GRAUZONE by Neringa Naujokaite. The grid-like motifs reveal the buildings behind them – the temporary housing containers for refugees or the accommodation facility for deported asylum seekers. The particular interest is in the borders to others.
The topic of refugees and migration has long been present in German society and reflected in art. Today, in view of the latest political developments, it is also very topical in Lithuania. The aim of the exhibition is to present artistic positions from Germany to the Lithuanian public and to stimulate an exchange on the subject.
Exhibition curator: Neringa Naujokaitė.
Exhibition coordinator: Kristina Liepinaitė.
Exhibition supported by: Stiftung Kunstfonds NEUSTARTplus and IFA – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen.
Partners of the exhibition: M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, Meno Parkas Gallery.
Photo credit: Gerlinde Salentin, 2008.
The event is open to the public and will be filmed and photographed. By attending the event you agree to be featured in photographs and videos of the event and are informed that these photographs and videos may be made public.