Transient Limits and Shifting Boundaries :Mediations Biennial

"Transient Limits and Shifting Boundaries"

Mediations Biennial, as part of Erased Walls, at ConcentArt EV Berlin
2 Channel Installation Curated by Raphaele Shirley and Lee Wells

October 7 till 30 October 2010

The impact of the former division of Central and Eastern Europe on the balance of societies, in this video program, is reconsidered as a metaphor for dichotomies, separations and alienations which can be found in palpable and impalpable forms in our lives throughout the globe. As our human society grows in complexity, histories and relationships are buried under the myriad of information and one can loose track of divisions which exist within the everyday. The Artist's role in the midst of this is to reveal, through associations of image and concepts, unidentified or forgotten truths or contradictions. The group of artists chosen for this program each touch through their work on questions of boundaries whether they be within the realm of identity, physical endurance, aesthetics, social interaction, political positioning or geographical predetermination. Through delicate or bold strokes they re-represent chasms within our state of being, seeking to reveal or mend the differences which echo or stem from the divisions found within Europe in the last century, and within human relations as a whole.

PAM artists include: Heini Aho
, Katja Aglert
, Anonymous, Jason Archer
, George Barber
, Josephin Boettger
, Tomislav Brajnovic, Michal Brzezinski
, Rodney Dickson, Stephanie Dodes,
Tony Hultqvist & Max Valentin, Manik, Bruno Muzzolini,
Iris Piers
, Iva Rad
, Maria João Salema,

Evelin Stermitz
, Tim White‐Sobieski
, and Sebastian Ziegler.

The international exhibition project entitled "Erased Walls" has been planned as a three-part project for presentation in Poland (Poznan: 11 Sept. – 30 Oct. 2010), Germany (Berlin: 7 – 30 October 2010) and Slovakia (Bratislava: 4 – 30 Nov. 2010).

After opening at the "Mediations Biennale Poznan 2010" (Poland), this highly acclaimed exhibition project is now coming to Berlin at "ConcentArt e.V. – A Space for Projects and Exhibitions". The project is supported by the EU's Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). In addition, as an extension of the exhibition “Erased walls” in Poznan, ConcentArt in Berlin-Kreuzberg is showing the video screenings, video installations, objects of 55 international artists to this theme. The video medium in its ambivalent function – on the one hand as a seemingly neutral documentation of reality, on the other with the option of taking up a personal, creative position and viewpoint on reality – is at the heart of this exhibition. This enables the artists to take a stance on the current situation in Europe: an association of states where physical walls have been destroyed and simultaneously replaced by invisible ones. In their works the artists reflect on stereotypes of Europe's image, such as self-reflexivity, plurality, tolerance or liberal democracy, achievements which Europe can be proud of and which have become common property. So there are good reasons to insist on the specificity and the magic of European culture, even if much of it needs to be put into perspective. New realities are emerging – caused by global changes via modern communications, by growing rivalries between the countries of "old" Europe and the "new" Europe that was formerly excluded from the distribution of wealth and now wants to participate in consumption. No resources are spared to achieve this objective. In addition, an intensification of financial "cannibalism" in the wake of the current financial crisis is leading to even greater disparities between rich and poor. This reinforces xenophobia and intolerance. As a result, hollow pronouncements on reconciling economic growth with social inclusion, cultural self-will with profit remain – like most other pronouncements – unfulfilled, at least up until now. The illusion of progress in the fields of communication and innovation is total, and the accelerated merry-go-round of values and standards continues against a backdrop of bottomless inequality.

For more information please see www.concentart.org