We are pleased to invite you to the release of
»the where do you come from issue«
curated by Yilmaz Dziewior (Bregenz).
May 8, 2010 at 8pm
Ofroom
Taborstr. 18, 1020 Vienna
The »Where do you come from issue« deals with the subject of »Origin«. The open, ambiguous nature of the question permits, or indeed provokes, a host of possible answers. The main underlying issue is the extent to which socialisation affects artistic production and how, for example, one’s »home(land)« moulds later developments, with regard to both the artist’s personality and work. The work may negotiate childhood and youth, the lives of one’s parents, or, more generally, events of generations gone before.
How is cultural identity manifested in times of global movements, and what does it mean to be born and grow up and to live in Cluj, Düsseldorf, Los Angeles, Seoul or Tel Aviv? National origin and current residence may be at least as important with regard to creating art as social class, gender or sexual orientation. In exploring questions of identity, the magazine remains conscious of the risk of essentialist determinations. However, the potential of singular cultural manifestations is brought to bear as an emancipatory moment opposing the effects of globalisation. The artists featured in this issue were invited not only because of their general interest in the above topics, but also because their work recurrently deals in special ways with image production and arranging found or self-made visual material. All contributions were selected especially for the magazine.