Berlin Biennale Still Present!

Mai Nguyễn-Long Installation view, 12th Berlin Biennale, Akademie der Künste Photo Jung Me Chai ©월간미술 Wolganmisool monthly art magazine/ Aug 2022 Berlin Biennale – Still Present! What Still Exists? Jung Me Chai The unhealed historical wounds inherited from the past are the keywords for this year’s 12th Berlin Biennale, curated by Kader Attia, a comprehensive curator, and five multinational female curators. Kader Attia, who comes from Algeria, grew up in France, the former colonizer, and Algeria, the colonized country, inheriting the wounds of history. Ana Teixeira Pinto, a Portuguese art theorist; Noam Segal, an independent curator from the United States; Marie Hélène Pereira, a curator from Senegal; Đỗ Tường Linh, a curator from Vietnam, and Rasha Salti, an art historian working in Beirut, would have experienced colonialism, capitalism, and racial discrimination from their perspectives.   Long-standing colonialism has distorted historical perspectives towards a Western-centric view, and the fear of losing privileges among white people has created monsters such as right-wing populism and Islamophobia. Then, how do the 70 participating artists view imperialism, capitalism, and colonial feminism in the present, overflowing with images and information? Especially for many non-Western artists among the participants. It should be noted that many participating artists are based in Western or various cities, regardless of their place of birth.   Today’s world is interconnected through invisible networks and surveillance algorithms that entangle the past and present. It seems highly unlikely that we will be liberated from such a situation. “Still Present” offers a reparative approach to dealing with this resilient imperialistic capitalist system. In addition to the existing KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Academy of Arts on Pariser Platz, Akademie der Künste Hanseatenweg, Pariser Platz, and Hamburger Bahnhof, the exhibition will be held at Stasi Headquarters—campus for Democracy in Berlin Biennale.   Archive as Knowledge and Experience Lawrence Abu Hamdan, a British-Lebanese artist who specializes in audio documentaries and installations, creates works that mainly consist of “Air conditioning.” The clouds depicted poetically appear to be drawn. Still, the fine particles of the clouds printed on several inkjet printers gradually transform into darker colours on the large exhibition wall of Hamburger Bahnhof. The work shapes the images of the surveillance data collected by Israeli military aircraft monitoring Lebanese airspace since 2006. Lawrence Abu Hamdan integrates historical records of data and natural elements to depict different forms of violence. On the AirPressure.info website, which the artist team developed, visitors can see the Israeli air attacks on Lebanon that have taken place over time.   Palestinian duo Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-Rahme, based in New York and Ramallah, created “Oh Shining Star Testify,” a video installation that combines real-life footage captured by Israeli surveillance cameras with projections onto tree sculptures and other structures. The video depicts the true story of a 14-year-old Palestinian boy who was shot and killed by the Israeli army while picking edible plants near the separation wall near Hebron. Collecting these plants, which are essential to Palestinian cuisine, is illegal. The surveillance footage was initially posted online but later removed. The installation portrays the erasure of existence and documentation of the destruction of Palestinian territory under occupation.   Imani Jacqueline Brown, based in London and Louisiana’s New Orleans, created “What remains at the ends of the earth?,” a video installation exploring the highly industrialized coastal area of Louisiana, where black slaves settled in the 18th century and which remains a representative site of the history of exploitation and violence against them. The area is also known as “Cancer Alley.” The installation touches on issues such as the conservation of natural resources, climate crisis, and labor exploitation. “Dekoloniale Erinnerungskultur in der Stadt” is a project that criticizes colonialism and racism and explores the past and present. “Exile Is a Hard Job,” a poster series by Turkish-born Nil Yalter based in Paris, features photographs and quotes from videos recorded by a Turkish woman of her conversations with her family. The installation is located in a window of a street in the central region of Metz, known for its significant role in cultural arts, and can be viewed at any time.   Stasi headquarters. The Democratic Campus was where the East German Ministry for State Security oppressed its citizens and upheld the power of the Socialist Unity Party. Today, it serves as an archive where visitors can access files documenting the information and surveillance of both East and West Germans. Omer Fast, born in Jerusalem and active in Berlin since 2001, raises questions about who evaluates surveillance and related data through his installation piece “A place which is ripe,” which incorporates CCTV.   In the installation artwork “Self-Portrait as Restitution – from a Feminist Point of View,” as suggested by the title, the sculpture is a self-portrait from a feminist perspective. Deneth Piumakshi Veda Arachchige, originally from Sri Lanka, modeled for the sculpture and holds a replica of her ancestor’s skull in her hands. The skull, whose identity and gender are indistinguishable, along with the current female self, poses intriguing questions about feminism and historical identity.   Worlds of Wounds, the installation artwork by Thuy-Han Nguyen Chi based in Berlin and London, tells the story of a journey from Vietnam to Germany via Thailand on a boat after the Vietnam War. The sculpture, which combines a hospital bed with a ship and an oxygen mask, is installed on a blue screen-like floor. Visitors can watch a video containing two separate events narrated in the first-person past tense by the speaker on the ceiling while lying on a blue mat around the sculpture. The themes of space-time and survival exist in a state of ambiguity between documentary and fiction.   As her name suggests, Mai Nguyen-Long was born to a Vietnamese father and an Australian mother. She grew up and lived in Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Australia, China, and Vietnam, which led her to focus on identity and language. Her installation artwork, “Specimen (Permate),” consists of numerous glass jars containing replicas of fetuses, human organs, and some body

documenta 15

Khalid Albaih documenta 15: Platz der Deutschen Einheit (Underpass)  Photo Jung Me Chai   ©월간미술 Wolganmisool monthly art magazine/ Aug 2022 Documenta 15: The Ideal and Reality of Room Bung Worldview Jung Me Chai The beginning was hopeful. Indonesian-based collective Ruangrupa was appointed as the artistic director, breaking away from the traditional Western-centric hierarchy, and the atmosphere was elastic. The Documenta organizers probably expected that having a Southeast Asian collective plan the event instead of a European-centric solo exhibition director would alleviate criticism of the event being Western-centric. They also wanted to show different artistic concepts from the Southern Hemisphere rather than the Northern Hemisphere. With this, Ruangrupa presented the Documenta 15 vision, which was anti-central and diverse, with the keyword “room bung” (a place where excess harvest from a community is stored and managed collectively). Also, after 100 days of Documenta 15, they announced their intention to build a self-sustaining and transparent artistic ecosystem that continues to be independent and transparent. The participant list is difficult to find names of well-known artists. Instead, most are names of collectives based in Southeast Asia or Africa. Rouan Rouan invited 67 collectives and artists from Southeast Asian, African, South American, and Arab cultural organizations, archives, activists, queer groups, and women’s groups. The 67 teams collectively brought along roughly 1500 to 1700 artists. Among the participating artists, approximately 80% are creatives who don’t have a gallery and have never sold their work. There is no “Courtesy” information as commonly found in significant events. It’s a fresh approach. Since the beginning of this year, the most sensitive issue of anti-Semitism in Germany has begun to emerge in the media. It has been noticed that Jewish and Israeli-born artists have not been invited, and there have been reports that the documentary “Dokumenta 15” can be abused to spread anti-Israel and anti-Semitic positions. After the opening, the media reported that the Indonesian-born collective Taring Padi’s work “People’s Justice” installed at Friedrichsplatz was anti-Semitic, and ultimately the work was removed. In Germany, which is sensitive to anti-Semitism, inevitably, the depiction of Jews with Nazi German SS symbols in part of the work will be a source of considerable controversy. Taring Padi explained that the work was created with the intention of opposing the widespread violence, oppression, and censorship during the 32 years of military dictatorship in Suharto’s government. However, criticism did not subside, and Taring Padi and Ruangrupa concluded the sensitive issue by only releasing an apology statement on their homepage instead of using methods of communication such as discussion and dialogue. The central role of the Documenta ecosystem, the Museum Fridericianum, has undergone a transformation into a research space where art and daily life are shared, known as the Fridskul, which houses a nursery, library, and dormitory. Fridskul comes from the Fridericianum as a school and is co-organized by the Ruhr University and the public learning space Gudskul. Artists can also reside in this space and participate in open workshops, seminars, and other events. The RURUKIDS, located on the first floor, is a nursery-style space with sandboxes, swings, and other play equipment where babies and parents can spend time together. The area is also used for learning through play, with forums, singing rooms, workshops, and movie screenings. The Black Archives, which displays over 10,000 books and audiovisual materials, showcases the historical records and personal stories related to the Black liberation movement and black writers, scholars, and activists from the Netherlands. The themes of colonialism, racial discrimination, and economic inequality are shown in the form of audiovisual materials, paintings, drawings, and videos, creating a homely atmosphere. The section showcasing the collections from the Asia Art Archive features mainly Indo-colonial and feminist Thai-related materials, as well as traditional arts. In the expansive Karlswiese park, with a size of 125 hectares, there is an installation called “Return to Sender” by the Kenyan film, music, fashion, and visual arts group, Nest Collective. The installation is made from clothes donated by the Western world, tied together into a building-like structure. “Return to Sender,” which symbolizes the beautiful architecture of the West and the environmental pollution of Africa, creates a strange contrast. The Search for Multiple Universes In front of the Fred Patrol Museum is an installation called the “Tent Embassy” by Richard Bell, an Australian activist and artist. Outside of the tent, a sign reads, “Aboriginal Embassy, white invaders, you are living on stolen land.” The “Tent Embassy” project, which started in 2013, aims to raise awareness and encourage solidarity through the discourse of colonial-modern history and the complex structure of indigenous art, as seen from the perspective of Richard Bell, who was born as an indigenous Kamilaroi of Australia. Germany’s famous dome of the Documenta Halle building is covered with glass and steel. Visitors must pass through the dark installation “Killing Fear of the Unknown” covered with rusty metal plates reminiscent of the outskirts of Africa to enter the exhibition hall. It is an installation work of the Wajukuu Art Project, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Once you enter the tunnel made of local building material, clay tiles, you will find two sculptures made of combined bicycle pedals and many knives. It is said to be a work inspired by violence that occurs regularly in traditional Masai houses and slums. The Thai non-profit organization ‘The House’ has created the installation ‘One Thousand Eyes’ in a small village in northern Thailand. The installation consists of a thousand Buddha statues, each with a different facial expression, placed in a rice field. The work reflects the diverse and complex nature of the local community and raises questions about the relationship between individuals and society. The Britto Arts Trust, which operates an international exchange program and is based in Bangladesh, primarily focuses on Bangladeshi food policy, social and political upheavals, and environmental issues in its work. The vast wall of Documenta Halle features classical Bengali movies depicting food, famine, and war through characters and situations. On the opposite side of the mural, small baskets