The Netherlands Media Art Institute presents the exhibition:
Channel Zero<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:=
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28 August - 23 October 2004
Opening 27 August 17.00 - 19.00 uur
Participating Artists: Sergei Bugaev Afrika (RU), Maja Bajevic ( F/BA), Mar=
c Bijl (NL), Heather Burnett (UK), Ritsaert Ten Cate (NL), Nikos Charalambi=
dis (CY), David Claerbout (B), Christophe Draeger (CH), Rainer Ganahl (A), =
Kendell Geers (SA), Kostas Ioannides (GR), Katarzyna Kozyra (PL), Boris Mi=
khailov (RU), Elahe Massumi (IR), Personal Cinema (International), Francesc=
o Simeti (I), Eliezer Sonnenschein (IL), Lina Theodorou (GR), Palle Torsson=
(S), Simone Zaugg (CH)
Curator: Katerina Gregos (GR)
We live within a culture marked by violence, both real and simulated. In th=
e society of the spectacle where the image exercises an all-pervasive power=
and everything tends to be reduced to mere representation, images of viole=
nce have become commonplace, yet another product for consumption.
In the wake of the recent war in Iraq, the international 'war against terro=
rism' and the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this culture of viol=
ence seems to be heightened. As a result, it appears we increasingly exist =
in a state of (almost) constant alert; post-1989 euphoria and optimism have=
given way to cynicism, pessimism and the return of fear as a very real iss=
ue. Invisible walls of terror, ignorance and hate have replaced the walls o=
f the cold war. Within this expanding culture of violence, the relationship=
between fact and fiction has been conflated, as it is often difficult to d=
istinguish between the two. Real life events involving explicit violence ha=
ve become the basis of a perverse sort of entertainment in television and t=
he entertainment industry; on the other hand, news casting and journalism h=
ave become increasingly formulaic, sensational and less 'neutral' and 'obje=
ctive'. The barrage and repetition of a specific kind of media-related viol=
ent imagery in many cases causes detachment and indifference. The fact is, =
that calamity (of any kind) remains largely ungraspable and un-representabl=
e as we, the audience, increasingly experience the world through the filter=
of the media.
The artists participating in Channel Zero make art that responds to the cul=
ture of violence that surrounds us and explore representations of violence =
in the media, entertainment industry or society in general to analyze, unde=
rmine, deconstruct or simply critique them. They examine the social, politi=
cal, and cultural as well as the personal aspects of violence through film,=
video, photography, digital media and the Internet. In many ways, this is =
an exhibition about media using new media.
However, apart from being fixated with images of violence and catastrophe C=
hannel Zero will also aim to offer a redemptive alternative, which reflects=
the ever-increasing desire for a culture of peace and a critique of war-mo=
ngering. Through their works, the comment on, counter, and transform the co=
nventions of the mass media which frequently objectifies violence. Sifting =
through the often-deceptive images created by the media, they point to the =
heavily mediated perceptual field of the representation of violence and off=
er alternative readings of them.
For more information / Images: Marieke Istha (Communication)
+31 (0)20 6237101 / [email protected]
Exhibition open: Tuesday - Saturday and the first Sunday of the month 1:00 =
- 6:00 pm
Entrance 2,50 (1,50 with discount)
Netherlands Media Art Institute
Montevideo/Time Based Arts
Keizersgracht 264
1016 EV Amsterdam
The Netherlands
T +31 20 6237101
F +31 20 6244423
[email protected]
www.montevideo.nl
upcoming exhibition: Channel Zero
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Type: discussion