Netherlands

Ruth Beale (UK, based in London)

Installation view “Now from Now”, “Acid Utopia / An Epoch of Rest” and “All the Libraries of London” at Cell Project Space, London, 2011

With her performances, installations and film the British artist Ruth Beale explores and draws attention to current social-political issues using cultural and historical references to create a new critical narrative. In her most recent installation shown at Cell Project Space in London, she addressed the phenomenon of the library, its social significance while acknowledging its indecisive future.

“Now from Now”, 2011, plywood, foam, fabric, headphones, audio on mp3, duration 9 min., “Acid Utopia / An Epoch of Rest”, 2011, lent library books from public libraries in London.

The narrative sound-piece “Now from Now”, the diptych “Acid Utopia / An Epoch of Rest” together with the alphabetical list of “All the Libraries in London” form a powerful, poetic utopian statement with a dystopian touch. Beale has a poetic subversive activist approach which creates a continuous tension that allows fiction and non-fiction to merge. With her intimate, unconventional, popping up “Miss B’s Salons” in private as well as public space she consciously seeks the confrontation with individuals to discuss political matters.

Installation view “Pamphlet Library – The Post Election Selection” as part of “The Mulberry Tress Press” exhibition at SE8 Gallery, London, 2010

With her ongoing project the “Pamphlet Library”, Beale creates a dialogue around contemporary social-political issues based on her selection of historical socialist and Marxist pamphlets (each one exemplifying a pressing issue and opinion of their time) enabling the reader to interpret the current debates through a historical window.

Reading performance during “The Mulberry Tress Press” exhibition at SE8 Gallery, London, 2010

As part of the project Beale invited five contemporary writers to revive the arguments made by Virginia Woolf, E.H. Foster and Graham Bell in 1939. They were published as part of the Hogarth Sixpenny Pamphlets series whose aim was to  “provide thinking people with the means to consider fundamental problems in art, literature, taste and morals”.

The new texts were read during a performance, accompanying Beale’s “Pamphlet Library – Post Election Selection”. Beale responded with this selection to the British elections in 2009 in the context of the group show “The Mulberry Tree Press” at SE 8 gallery, London.

Jenny Moore (CA, based in London)

“Proposal for a Rock Opera”, performance at South London Gallery 2011

Jenny Moore is an energetic storytelling artist, musician and author whose performances, publications and sculptural work draw attention to every-day situations via a magnifying glass of small details. “Proposal for a Rock Opera” tells the story about a London based artist that is in need of money and ends up going on an artist-residency in Norway. Moore blends humour with a soft tone of criticality, that together with her poetic, playful aesthetical approach results in a dynamic complexity that highlights the subtlety of the situation and its surrounding.

“A Dialogue of Something Moving OR The 19:45 Train to Cheshunt in 5 Shapes”, documentation of the performance in the London Overground, 2012

In her most recent performances “A Dialogue of Something Moving” and “The 19:45 Train to Cheshunt in 5 Shapes”, which took place in the London Overground, Moore draws one’s attention into the actual moment via an unexpected object entering the situation. While multiple voices read out loud a chapter of a novel pointing out little details of the overlooked in the haste of the moment, subtle tones from a string instrument fill the carriage.

“A Dialogue of Something Moving OR The 19:45 Train to Cheshunt in 5 Shapes”, documentation of the performance in the London Overground, 2012

Beside her individual practice Jenny Moore is also initiator of GANDT, an artist collective that is challenging the notion of authorship, collaboration and the imaginative in their publications, performances and exhibitions. 

www.gandtpresents.com

Invitation by GANDT

Preparations for the GANDT diner event “Let’s be Civil”, 2011

n.o.where run by Karen Mirza and Brad Butler (UK, based in London) 

The artist-run initiative n.o.where at the heart of London, is unique in their approach. They combine being a production house for all sorts of analogue film and video while at the same time having a critical dialogue about contemporary image making through their public program. Founded by the artists and filmmakers Karen Mirza and Brad Butler in 2004, n.o.where has a dense discursive programme of critical discussions, performances, screenings, residencies that explore political and aesthetic questions around contemporary image production and systems of distribution. Recent projects include “The Free Cinema School" a contemporary film pedagogy, "Sequence" a new journal of artists writing on the moving image, "Light Reading” a platform for direct discussion between artist and audience and "Image | Event" a platform for critical discourse within the "Image Movement" exhibition at the Centre for Contemporary Art Geneva amongst others. N.o.where offers filmmakers a new platform to discuss their work in a critical, inspiring environment and has stepped into the gap that occurred after the London Filmmakers Coop lost its vibrance.

“Boundary Wall Intervention” Karen Mirza and Brad Butler, Karachi 2009

Mirza and Butler also collaborate on autonomous projects outside the realm of the initiative. “The Museum of Non Participation” is a spatial and conceptual (geo) political structure conceived by the collective Karen Mirza & Brad butler in 2008. The Museum collects and archives a body of actions, gestures, images and objects by the artists and their collaborators wherever and whenever they have found themselves confronting pivotal moments of change, protest, non-alignment and resistance in the public sphere. By bringing these together under the rubric of the museum, the artists question the choice and consequence of action/inaction in any given social space. Most importantly, the museum has developed through co-authorship, forming itself around a constituency of actors that span a divergent array of socio-cultural, economic, class and geographical boundaries.

www.no-w-here.org.uk

According to Latvian artist Kriss Salmanis inhabitants of European nations that were once under the influence of the Soviet Union can be easily recognised from other Europeans.

Ask people whether they know Mendelejev’s dream. Those who stare at you with a blank look are West-Europeans and those who confirm the story of how Dmitri Mendelejev came up with the periodic table are former Soviets (or were under the communist influence until the wall came down. Let’s keep it political correct).

There it is, that’s how simple life can be.

We’re at Florencia, an ice cream parlour in the centre of The Hague. Florencia is an icon in The Hague. Its original Italian owners make authentic Italian ice cream which is yummy. It’s also a place known as a meeting point for locals of different social backgrounds who drink cheap coffee with milk or eat one of the simple egg sandwiches.

It’s ten o’clock a.m. and we’re here to talk about our dreams. It’s an initiative by Serbian artist/curator Anica Vucetic.

In Serbia it’s common during breakfast to discuss dreams you’ve had the night before.

Anica and Kriss are joined by Polish artist/curator Janek Simon. They have been invited by the Alternative Art Guide and Wander to come to The Hague in an effort to find out how they perceive what is important in contemporary art from their local standpoint and to meet and exchange ideas with professionals from The Hague.

It seems a simple objective but it’s hard to imagine what drives an idea about contemporary art with only superficial knowledge about someones background. It’s like imagining what goes on in a man’s head while only knowing his occupation and the town he has come from.

This meeting is one of the first attempts to find out more.

Anica is connected to Third Belgrade, an initiative from Belgrade named after the geographical position of the building. That seems to be at least one clear universal similarity between art spaces. Their name often refers to their geographical placement. W139 in Amsterdam is the shortcut for the address of this legendary art run space/ art institute and Nest (where I work) is based in a building called The DCR, at the De Constant Rebecque square. I guess wherever we are in the global art world, when it comes to something important like a name we quickly refer back to the practical, avoiding the search for a name that covers the idea of our organisation. Probably for the best as it provides the opportunity to develop ideas without getting stuck in an initial thought.

Anyhow, let’s get back to the dreams.

Anica’s dream session is an introduction into ways of Third Belgrade. As Third Belgrade consist of a loose group of artists with a varying background, discipline and ideas sleepovers were organised.

By sleeping together it was believed that the dreams at night would mix and the individuals within the group would dream a more collective dream.

The collective seems important. Even those who do not know much about Serbia, know about the horrific period Serbia and the other former Yugoslavian countries have gone through. It seems paradoxal that there is a desire for the collective when the collective of nations has failed to such a degree. At the same time Anica defies that the desire for the collective comes from political motives. She states it’s the opposite. She feels the desire to avoid political statements. Her practice is more to find rest away from a troubled reality and the collective provides hope for those that are looking for a better future.

In a way the comfort of a small collective seems a political act in order to flee from political realities and to seek for a better world in the dialogue with others within the secluded place that Third Belgrade maybe offers.

When we think of sharing dreams we think of the positive and beautiful ones.

And looking at what nightmares are on offer already, maybe we should keep it this way.

Wander is the new Artist-in Residence organisation in The Hague. December last year they collaborated with the Alternative Art Guide and hosted a pilot program with three artists: Anica Vucetic from Serbia, Kriss Salmanis from Latvia and Janek Simon from Poland. Each artist was given the opportunity to host an event for an evening. Kriss hosted an evening about ‘the book you shouldn’t read’.

Kriss is a Latvian artist who’s interested in investigating how artists in The Netherlands go about in making a living. He has worked in the advertising world for a long time and called his art practice a hobby. This provocation worked for a while, although he now considers himself an artist with side jobs.

For his evening -which was held quite appropriately in cafe De Bieb (cafe The Library), and attracted twenty some visitors- the visitors were invited to bring along a book and warn the others to not read this book. I wrote down all the titles and arguments against the proposed books.

‘Losing the head of Philip K. Dick’, by David Dufty because: when you have read the text on the cover, you read the book.

All books by Herman Koch because: He wants to show the dark side of human beings, come up with something new man!

Johan Gustavsson doesn’t advice his own book with drawings. He thinks the book is badly printed.

‘Blind Willow, sleeping woman’ by Haruki Murakami because the writer is to sure about what he writes. The reader cannot have a mind of their own.

‘Suezkade’ by Jan Siebelink because of his utterly snobbish way of writing.

‘The fashion of architecture’ by Bradley Quinn. Th.e author only compares between architecture and fashion. He doesn’t produce new information, nor does he state his own opinion.

‘The Magic mountain’ by Thomas Mann, very hard to get through. It collapses under trivia.

’7 Types of Ambiguity’ by William Epson. He is not sure about the seven types, so don’t read it, but do put it on your bookshelf.

All travelguides. Because we need to tell each other where we should go and not spend awfull lots of money on these books.

‘Conceptual art for dummies’. Because, ha ha how funny. Alle the pages are empty.

The Alternative Art Guide has arrived in Marrakech and has installed the first part of the Alternative Art Guide presentation. Aim is to present our local view on contemporary art next to that of what’s on offer at the Marrakech Biennial and to make that the starting point of a continuous dialogue in which we not only present our view but also invite others to respond, both verbally as well as visually and conceptually.

In practise it means we have set up three presentations at the location of The Marrakech Biennial in the Bank Al Maghrib at Jemaa El Fna. Curator and member of the Alternative Art Guide Johan Gustavsson initially selected works by Finnish artist Erkka Nissinen, Dutch Artists Ton Schuttelaar and by Israeli (but New York based) artist Tamy Ben Tor. These artists one way or another play a role in our local and national art world in The Hague, where we are based, and in The Netherlands as a whole. We have also brought many more works by artists from The Hague and Holland so that we can continuously change what’s on display. Contributors from all over the world that have written articles for thenaked.nl have also been invited to send works to Marrakesh and that will give us the initial ‘luggage’ for our trip around the world in Marrakesh.

In a way we consider our contribution to the biennial as the setup of a new artist run space. Where an artist run space is the coming together of different minded individuals with their own ideas and inspirations that during a process of making exhibitions together have to find a common ground, we have invited different cultures and nationalities to the table. As the time space and possibilities of the biennial are limited we do not have the ambition to fully succeed, but we look for that what we can learn from each other and the different perspectives provided during the process.

I won’t go into details on all our findings until now, but I will provide two examples of what we considered striking examples of what we are trying to investigate while we are here. The work presented of The Hague based artist Ton Schuttelaar consists of two chairs on a low pedestal with an empty coke can on one of them. Ton Schuttelaar provided us with a description of the components of his installation. He did not come to Marrakesh to select them or to install the installation himself.

Between 2005 and 2011 he created a private archive of photographs that for him work as something he describes as ‘a methaphor for the recent collective modern-art archive’. These photographs were the basis for installations in which he created visual translations of the pictured objects on the original photographs.
As no new additions to his archive were possible after 2011 the necessity arose to study the reusage of elements. The option he’s studying right now is exchangeabilty. Of course you can change always one object for an other object but this refers to the endless line of massproduction or variety. He is not looking for that because in the end the chosen object becomes important and iconografic again. To solve this problem he thought of the idea of Ultra Things (Ultra Things have to be world wide spread, very easy to get your hands on and they have to be around already for some time and will be in the future. And finally they need to be neutral in shape), that can change into other Ultra Things without changing the idea of the original installation. Untill now he found about 10 Ultra Things he can use. For him these Ultra Things offer the possibility to be ultra modern. With the attempt of being ultra modern he attempts to overthink possible new ways of dealing with the object and making art after the collapse of innovation as censorship within the arts.
In this case his original photograph has been translated into the below installation using chairs from the location in Marrakesh and a Moroccan can of coke.

In the centre of the bank Marrakesh Biennial curator Hicham Khalidi placed a work by Belgium artist Éric ten Hove. This artist worked together with local artisans to produce a lifelike copy of a Mercedes engine.

The use of authentic materials and handcrafted skills in combination with a detailed car engine awes the audience of the biennial and local visitors appreciate both the sculpture as well as the skills needed to produce the work.

The same visitors pay very little attention to the work of Ton Schuttelaar. They do not only walk past, they also remove the chairs from the pedestal so they can sit down while they admire the craftmanship in the work of Ten Hove.

The coke can has been replaced several times as visitors and cleaners assumed it was not part of the artwork.
The coke can was stuck to the chair with thick tape and the work got sudden attention when the can fell over revealing the tape. Suddenly visitors got their cameras out to take pictures of the oddly wrapped glued plastic shape which slightly resembled a face.

It’s needless to say that the work taken out of the dutch context lost it’s importance. Admittedly Ton Schuttelaars work sometimes receives similar reactions by the general audience in Holland but I also do not assume many of the professional visitors of the biennial felt the significance of the work either.
That would probably have been different if these professionals would have experienced the work in a Dutch setting in  a typical western white cube kind of presentation.

At another location of the biennial L’Blassa we came across the work of Simohammed Fettaka. A self made knights armor was presented to us. It wasn’t as skillfully produced as the Mercedes engine of Ten Hove. Metal plates were clumsely attached together forming a metal suit that clearly represented a classical Ivanhoe type of armor.

Next to the armor was a video showing the artist walking through Marrakesh while being followed by local kids who constantly took pictures of the bizarre performance.

We all liked the piece. The armor at first did not impress but the combination of the armor with the video made us discuss the work at length. We ended up with the main question: would we also have appreciated the work if it had been set in Amsterdam. Did the combination of craftsmanship and exoticism of Marrakech make us milder in our judgement as some of us assumed that a translation of the work to our local environment would have communicated as an unfunny gimmick. Possibly we liked it due to the contrast between the western based knight and the Arabic rural environment. We saw a participant of the crusades willing to proclaim his god over that of Allah, but lost from the holy lands and ended up in Marrakech where Moroccan youths didn’t feel threatened by the cumbersome armor. In Amsterdam we would have simply assumed this was someone about to be married, stupid enough to have his friends dressing him up in a funny costume for his stag night.

On Sunday we have to opportunity to find out how biennial curator Hicham Khalidi and our colleagues of several Marrakesh run spaces feel about our first encounters as we have organised a public discussion on the different local perspectives on developments in the global art world. It’s 13.00 hours in Bank Al Maghrib at Jemaa El Fna for those who are interested.

At Sunday the 2nd of March the Alternative Art Guide organised a ‘Round the table talk at the Bank AL Magrib with Marrakech Biënnale curator Hicham Khalidi, Maroccan initiative ’18’, The Mint Collective, the Alternative Art Guide itself and anyone interested to join in the discussion.

How is The Marrakech Biënnale different from any other western bienial? Is there a Maroccan identity within the arts? How does communication work between collaborating cultures and nationalities? When does symbioses become exploitation? These and many other questions were discussed.

A previous post on the Alternative Art Guide @ the Marrakech Biënnale can be found here.

For those who want to see the full discussion, please simply scroll down for the last videofile. For those who prefer chapterss concerning certain topics we’ve seperated the discussion into chapters:

Chapter 1: We’ll start with the introduction for those who are not sure what we were doing there 😉

Chapter 2: Bienial curator Hicham Khalidi explains the global position of the biënnale of Marrakech.

Chapter 3: Laila Hida introduces her initiative in Marrakech ’18’

Chapter 4: How does the Dutch identity and perspective compare to that of the Moroccan?

Chapter 5: “Let’s bring in the Mint” An introduction into The Mint Collective; a group of London based artists that have started theiur own program in Marrakech.

Chapter 6: How important is communication through language in collaboration? Two artists invited by The Mint Collective, Oli Bonzanigo and Esme Toler explain their experiences.

Chapter 7: Hicham Khalidi and assistant curator Natasha Hoare on ‘The Bienial of Miscommunication’

Chapter 8: Antropology Student Joe Hayns feels that symbiosys at time was equal to exploitation. A discussion continued in chapter 11.

Chapter 9: The western gaze; The problematics of a western idea of art in a non western environment.

Chapter 10: How do we define quality in different contexts?

Chapter 11: How equal are we in the end?

Chapter 12: Is everybodies opinion as good as others, when it comes to a contemporary art bienial in Africa?

And last: The discussion in its entirety

On the request of the Alternative Art Guide Irene de Craen, journalist and director of Hotel Mariakapel in Hoorn, The Netherlands conducted an interview with Laila Hida, initiator of Le 18, a young artist initiative in Marrakech. This interview took place during the last Marrakech Biennial, where the Alternative Art Guide was present to host a fringe project for the Biennial.

Where are we going? An interview with Laila Hida

After a long meander through the narrow streets of the medina in Marrakech – getting lost, finding my way, and getting lost again – I finally find the café I was looking for, located in one of the many secret courtyards the city seems to hide. The tranquillity of the courtyard is in stark contrast with the bustling noise and activity just outside its walls. It offers a rare moment of peace and quiet where one can enjoy a drink and the lovely Moroccan weather. Here I meet Laila Hida, founding director of Le 18, an already indispensable project space within the small Marrakech art scene. A place for ‘meetings and exchanges, a space of creation, laboratory of reflection, literary coffee shop and guest house.’
Irene de Craen: Maybe you can start by telling a little bit about yourself, and how you came to the idea to start Le 18.

Laila Hida: I moved to Paris when I was seventeen years old. There I studied English literature at Sorbonne for two years, as well as communication and journalism. After that I wanted to study cinema, but I couldn’t get into the school I wanted. Instead, I became an assistant art director at a fashion magazine; I did that for five years. Still, I am certain that one day I will end up in cinema.

I moved to Marrakesh two and a half years ago, after living in Paris for twelve years. The decision to move back to Morocco, changed my entire life. I think it was a good decision, I don’t know yet if it was the right decision… Nonetheless, I feel it has given me many new opportunities. In Paris, I felt I had reached a point where there was nothing for me to do anymore. My friends found themselves in a similar situation: the financial crisis has made it very hard to run projects, and the creative world has become very competitive. Somehow I couldn’t create anything there anymore, so I concluded it was time to leave. When I came to Morocco I realized something about myself; living in Paris had made me feel like a Parisian in every way, but as soon as I was back, I realized I am Moroccan.

Laila Hida

IdC: What does it mean to be Moroccan?

LH: That’s the question. I don’t know what it means. I don’t think it is something external, but rather something that comes out of you. A mix of your background, your education, and everything surrounding you, of what your parents taught you, and the culture in general. All together this somehow makes something that is Moroccan. And of course the same goes for any other nationality.

Marrakech

Marrakech

IdC: When you came to Morocco, did you already have the idea to start Le 18?

LH: No. When I came back, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to do photography, so that’s what I did. I also started a small business as a producer. I was in Casablanca at the time, and when I moved to Marrakech, I realized there was something missing in the city and especially in the medina. I didn’t know exactly what, but I knew it had something to do with culture: there was hardly any opportunity to meet with other people in art and culture and that was rather frustrating. I thought that maybe if we have a space where people can come and just chat and exchange, then that would at least be something. And that was the start of Le 18: just the idea of having a space. Everyone who is involved in the project since, is somehow part of it. It gives people a space to express themselves, to meet, to do things. It is also an open house, so you can come and work. The rooms work as guestrooms, but if you’re an artist and you don’t have money, of course we give you a room free of charge, if we can afford it.

Le18

IdC: Coming together like you enable people to do in Le 18 is very important. But as the Alternative Art Guide also shows, there are always cultural and other differences that can be a source of miscommunication. Thinking about Moroccan culture, religion is obviously very present, while it is often missing from art and daily life in the so-called ‘West’. In other words, this could be one of those points of miscommunication. That said, how important do you think religion is for contemporary Moroccan artists? And what does it mean to you?

LH: This is a very important point to discuss. In Morocco, religion is so important that I cannot see art without it. So it is obvious to me that artists should consider it, but in reality this is often not the case because it is one of the many taboos this country has. Of course there are exceptions, but these are usually established artists based outside Morocco. Here, we don’t discuss it, and there’s no space to discuss religion and the different views people might have about it. Islam is a state religion, so it’s considered something you should just follow without asking any questions. Even though it is such a big part of who we are, and it is present in our daily life, in the way we speak, in everything we do, in Moroccan contemporary art, religion is mostly absent.

Hicham Bouzid

Hicham Bouzid en Laila Hida

IdC: Is Le 18 a place where these things can be discussed?

LH: Yes, I think it is very important because people don’t know how to talk about it. A lot of people are afraid to open this discussion because they don’t know what the other person is thinking. They’re afraid that they will be judged. Morocco is an ‘appearance based society’, which means it is important who you are, where you come from, what you do, how much money you earn and how you think. In Morocco, you’re not considered as an individual with individual ideas and positions, you are considered from the perspective of your socio-cultural type and occupation. This is very heavy, and it is why people are afraid for what they say, what they do, and to have their own positions. They maybe don’t even think about their position.

Marrakech

Marrakech

IdC: That’s an interesting point that you are making about people not being individuals in Morocco, because traditionally, Western Modern art is all about individuality. It’s one of its key principles.

LH: Yes, that’s true and that’s maybe why most of the work of young Moroccan artists is about questioning themselves as individuals, and about finding ways to release themselves from this society, from the heaviness and weight that lies on their shoulders. But it is very difficult, because every time you try to do something, even if you don’t want to, somewhere in your head there’s a barrier, a kind of self-censorship perhaps. So compared to Europeans artists, Moroccan artists don’t have it easy; they’re doing the job two times over. Before doing anything, they have to try and step out from their own cultural frame.

From a Moroccan point of view, art is just something that is beautiful, they don’t see it as engaged. There’s some education that needs to be done about art I think. Our education in general is very particular: there are a lot of things that go unsaid, and it is difficult when you need to face this every day. As a result, Moroccan mentality can sometimes be archaic and causes us to be behind on many other Arab countries, art wise in any case. Young people feel very frustrated about this because they can’t even express themselves. It is supposed to be something very normal and easy but it is not actually. This goes for everyone. You can’t go into the street and do whatever you want. But this is the weird thing in Morocco: for example by religion alcohol is completely forbidden, but in bars and restaurants they are only not allowed to serve Muslim people, and in some cases they only serve men, not women, while in fact Moroccans are huge consumers of alcohol. Also; a man who drinks is considered normal, whereas a woman who drinks is a bad woman. In some places in Marrakech, I’ve experienced this double standard very directly by simply being refused access to a bar or restaurant.

Marrakech

IdC: How do you deal with this inequality?

LH: Sometimes I face situations that drive me out of my mind. Nevertheless, you learn to live with it. There are times you fight against it, and other times you just let it go because it takes too much energy. But it is not easy. Of course, I haven’t been living in Morocco for a long time, I’ve only moved back about two and a half years ago, and at that time I thought I might move back to Paris again. But in the end it is important to be here. It doesn’t make sense for me to take the easy way. Also, people have been supporting me very much in setting up Le 18. So for the moment, everything is good as long as we’re not doing anything wrong, which we have no intention of doing. We just do our programme.

Le18

IdC: Considering the Marrakech Biennale, I’ve been think a lot about the ‘where’ in the title ‘Where Are We Now?’ Simultaneously I have been thinking about the term ‘art world’, which brings me to the question I want to ask you: Where is the art world?

LH: This is a very conceptual question that has no answer. It depends where each artist positions himself. Of course one can feel more of a ‘complete’ artist, or validated, when you’re in a gallery in London or New York, but for me, the art world is more the achievement of a person. I think for young Moroccan artists for example, it is more important to find their own personal way. That is the most important thing before thinking about being somewhere else. If you can go out from this kind of brain prison that has been built when we were born and raised, that’s already something. And art, in the Arab world in general, is maybe the only thing that will help us to grow and touch on very sensitive points such as religion, equality and liberty. Art can really help us to define for ourselves where we are, and where we are going.

Yassine Balbzioui